Shaft Seal Leak at Propeller

W

wabislander

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 11, 2021
Messages
70
Fluid Motion Model
R-21 EC
Non-Fluid Motion Model
17' wilker
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river time
I have narrowed down my transom leak to the shaft seal on the outside (where the shaft leaves the chine on the boat). Couple of questions: 1. Has anyone encountered this? 2. Is this seal replacement a DIY possibility or only a marina repair?>
 
Not clear what you are referring to. Are you talking about a straight shaft through a traditional shaft log with stuffing box? Any pics?
 
Newf said:
Not clear what you are referring to. Are you talking about a straight shaft through a traditional shaft log with stuffing box? Any pics?
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I had water coming in from the seal. The boat is a 2013 c28 and from my understanding all the old style seals leak but I finally found a new style pss seal and it had to be installed by a marine professional but it’s worth it if u want a dry bilge. They have to remove prop back the shaft out and put seal in and it’s not easy but once done correctly and adjusted I have a dry bilge and when I was boat shopping every c28 and next model up with inboard diesel Volvo leaked that I looked at. Seal is about 600 and mechanic charged 4 hours labor….
 
Stuffing box versus drip less shaft seal, an article by Brian Gordon a West Marine product specialist will explain the difference between them and there pros and cons !
It will also give you your answer to your problem and the proper fix.
Westmarine.com
 
Volvo28 said:
I had water coming in from the seal. The boat is a 2013 c28 and from my understanding all the old style seals leak but I finally found a new style pss seal and it had to be installed by a marine professional but it’s worth it if u want a dry bilge. They have to remove prop back the shaft out and put seal in and it’s not easy but once done correctly and adjusted I have a dry bilge and when I was boat shopping every c28 and next model up with inboard diesel Volvo leaked that I looked at. Seal is about 600 and mechanic charged 4 hours labor….
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Would that be considered a shat seal housing part? I have 2016 d6 with leak suspected from that area. What is a pss seal?
Thank you,
G
 
PYI Inc. makes the PSS (Packless Sealing System) dripless shaft seals for boats.[1, 2]
  • Manufacturer: Washington-based PYI Inc. (founded in 1981) manufactures the PSS line, which was introduced in 1991.
  • Company Location: They are located in Lynnwood, Washington,
 
Volvo28 said:
I had water coming in from the seal. The boat is a 2013 c28 and from my understanding all the old style seals leak but I finally found a new style pss seal and it had to be installed by a marine professional but it’s worth it if u want a dry bilge. They have to remove prop back the shaft out and put seal in and it’s not easy but once done correctly and adjusted I have a dry bilge and when I was boat shopping every c28 and next model up with inboard diesel Volvo leaked that I looked at. Seal is about 600 and mechanic charged 4 hours labor….
Click to expand...
What do you consider a "leak"?

The inboard Volvo Diesels you are referring to use a stuffing box and packing seal that MUST drip! They use the water for cooling and to help with the lubricity of the packing material.

There are published specifications for the drip rate (unfortunately I cannot locate the official Volvo specs for you but there are general drip rate charts available). They usually specify something like 1 to 2 drips a minute when not running and 5 to 10 drips per minute while underway. Of course tightening the stuffing box reduces the drip rate, while loosening the adjustment increases the drip rate. If the stuffing box is tightened too much to reduce the drip rate, the packing will overheat and damage the driveshaft as well as reducing your power to the prop. A more precise method of tightening the packing gland is using temperature rise during operation. Tighten the stuffing box to reduce the drip rate without creating to much friction and overheating the prop shaft. A temperature rise of less than 15 degrees F is acceptable.

The drip rate numbers are a guide and may be slightly more or less than specifications. If your "leak" is within these limits then your boat is normal and operating as designed. If the drip rate seems excessive after adjusting the packing gland as described then most likely the packing gland material needs replacement.

If this is not acceptable to you, then do as others have done and install a dripless shaft seal system. But they have drawbacks and limitations also so familiarize yourself with them before you spend the money.
 
Installed a PSS on my sail boat years ago cause I hated crawling in the Bilge to tighten the Packing Gland Seal. Worked great and when I got my 2011 RT-27 after about the 3 time the Johnson Bilge Pump alarm went off I installed a PSS seal and been dry since. For a boat that is moored in the water a good safety item.
 
William Sanborn said:
Installed a PSS on my sail boat years ago cause I hated crawling in the Bilge to tighten the Packing Gland Seal. Worked great and when I got my 2011 RT-27 after about the 3 time the Johnson Bilge Pump alarm went off I installed a PSS seal and been dry since. For a boat that is moored in the water a good safety item.
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Yes the dry bilge is great. I highly recommend the PSS….
 
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