Dripless Shaft Seal UPGRADED from '08

[Fman]

Here is a picture of the new dripless shaft seal, MUCH better than the 2008 version. This one is all brass, better bearing/seal housing, the dealer was really impressed with it. The 2008 seal was plastic, and very poorly designed. I also realized this after it was removed, it did not look anything like the new one.

So if you are upgrading/replacing your seal, might want to consider a newer unit. Ordered from Skiers Choice, $147.

[docdrs]

thats interesting.....is it OJ.....had mine replaced 2 mos ago and it was still like the old one

[Fman]

thats interesting.....is it OJ.....had mine replaced 2 mos ago and it was still like the old one

Not sure on the brand, was not able to see the packaging it shipped in.

[jaywidhalm]

So was this covered under warranty?

[Fman]

So was this covered under warranty?

I payed for the part and Skiers Choice payed for the labor. Seasafe was not going to cover it because they consider it a "wear and tear item". I was pleased we could reach an agreement that worked for both parties. I felt this was a fair option for me. Labor would have been $350, the part was $147 on my tab.

Overall I have been very satisifed with SC always trying to make sure you (customer) are taken care of. They easily could have walked away, but chose to help me out a little.

[beast 496]

I am very interested, The Master craft stuffing boxes are wearing out also. Same OJ brand. I like the new Brass with a coolant line also. Who did you buy it from? Al

[Fman]

I am very interested, The Master craft stuffing boxes are wearing out also. Same OJ brand. I like the new Brass with a coolant line also. Who did you buy it from? Al

Ordered it from Skiers Choice, not sure who makes it. You will need to contact someone at SC in the parts dept. to find out.

[viking]

I am very interested, The Master craft stuffing boxes are wearing out also. Same OJ brand. I like the new Brass with a coolant line also. Who did you buy it from? Al

I see skidim had the OJ dripless kit for $150 a while back.

[Topgun]

I have replaced about 12 of seals for others over the past 2 years. The new brass seal design (made by OJ) is superior to the original composite (also OJ)and was just introduced into production late summer 2010. Prior to that, only the composite version was available. It worked fine if the engine alignment was correct. I found alignment issues on every leak I encountered. You can find info in your Indmar and Walter owners manuals on checking your alignment. Good idea to check when you winterize.

[whynot]

The PSS shaft seal does not leak any water into the bilge. It is very simple to install. I have had it for 3 years and have had no problems. A flawless design with absolutely no maintenance. You can get it at Ski Dim.

[docdrs]

I have replaced about 12 of seals for others over the past 2 years. The new brass seal design (made by OJ) is superior to the original composite (also OJ)and was just introduced into production late summer 2010. Prior to that, only the composite version was available. It worked fine if the engine alignment was correct. I found alignment issues on every leak I encountered. You can find info in your Indmar and Walter owners manuals on checking your alignment. Good idea to check when you winterize.

Finally some evidence based info, do you dable in marine repairs? were most of the alignment issues motor related or shaft related(ie bent shaft or coupler?).....and to what tolerance do you align to? .02 or less than .02?..... I don't have a .01 feeler gauge. thanks

[cadunkle]

Where do I order one of these new OJ brass designs? I worry about having a plastic piece sealing water out of the boat. I also need to check my shaft for straighness and engine alignment as I have a slight wobble. Don't feel any vibration and it didn't seem to aggrrivate the packing, but I want to fix this and upgrade to dripless over the winter.

[Fman]

Finally some evidence based info, do you dable in marine repairs? were most of the alignment issues motor related or shaft related(ie bent shaft or coupler?).....and to what tolerance do you align to? .02 or less than .02?..... I don't have a .01 feeler gauge. thanks

My dealer said my alignment was fine, and my seal took a dump after 200 hours, cant really figure this one out.

[docdrs]

My dealer said my alignment was fine, and my seal took a dump after 200 hours, cant really figure this one out.


Not to slam the dealers, but they can only go by what S.C. tells them...seems like its all damage control to me......as an perfectionist my fault maybe
once I know the way something should be and its back up by proof or evidence then why should it be allowed to be different? As far as I'm concerned alignment is a static thing and it should be able to get it perfect or darn close...less than.02.....when S.C. says .05 is acceptable I call B.S.. So in my case I bought a new shaft, installed it and could align it to under .02 in about 15 mins.........where as before, I new my shaft or coupler was out ,from brand new ,and .05 was the best I could ever do.

[Fman]

Not to slam the dealers, but they can only go by what S.C. tells them...seems like its all damage control to me......as an perfectionist my fault maybe
once I know the way something should be and its back up by proof or evidence then why should it be allowed to be different? As far as I'm concerned alignment is a static thing and it should be able to get it perfect or darn close...less than.02.....when S.C. says .05 is acceptable I call B.S.. So in my case I bought a new shaft, installed it and could align it to under .02 in about 15 mins.........where as before, I new my shaft or coupler was out ,from brand new ,and .05 was the best I could ever do.

Guess I will find out next season, they said they re-aligned to specs, and did a vibration test. Its covered under warranty for another year, hopefully I am not back at the dealer next season for leakage again!

[beast 496]

It is not actually a shaft to engine alignment which wears out the composit shaft seal body, but rather stuffing box to shaft alignment. The composit body rubs on the shaft and overheats, and eventually melts. I am replacing all of my customers leaky shaft seals with the new brass units. Another upgrade is the water cooled fitting. Al

[docdrs]

So your saying the if the rubber boot ,that connects the the shaft seal housing to the hull, is not passive or not in alignment with the shaft , then more pressure is placed on the graphite seal on one side causing increased heat transfer to the composite housing? The composite housing should not be touching the shaft at all , just the inner seal. The water cooling feature was also on the composite housings and this did not prevent mine from failing. Mine leaked from day one which I believe was either from faulty installation and or a oem bent shaft that could only be aligned to within 5 thousandths of an inch. I bought a new shaft and had it to under 2 thousandths of an inch in about 15 minutes.

If the housing was rubbing on the shaft it was due to the misalignment in my case and the water was leaking between the shaft and the seal itself.

Were you seeing a failure of the composite housing , or just water leaking? Did these composite housings have the water line on them?

[beast 496]

If the thru hull fitting and stuffing box is not in alignment with the shaft, it will rub on the shaft. On the old rope style seals, which were made of brass, the clearance was very minimal and a minimum amount of water coming UP the shaft cooled the unit. On the composite unit, if it rubs the shaft the platic will deform and overheat, causing the seal to leak. Care should be taken to align the stuffing box seal to the shaft as close as possible. The engine to shaft alignment has nothing to do with this. Three items should be in parrellel. Engine/transmission, stuffing box seal, and strut.
Al

[csuggs]

THis is all very interesting reading as I am preparing to install a new PSS shaft seal that I purchased late last summer after my OEM Lasdrop seal failed.
AL - I would love to talk to you about alignment because I know this is critical to the outcome of my installation. How is the PSS seal in comparison to this new seal you are talking about?

[sybrmike]

Watching this one too. I'm hopefully just a few weeks away from installing the engine on new stringers with straightened shaft & strut with new PSS seal. I'm sure to be starting from scratch on alignment...

My thought is to start from the shaft log since it's the only fixed piece & align my way up/down the shaft in both directions.

[beast 496]

I prototyped several units with the PSS shaft seals on larger 42' cruisers. We ran the PSS for a couple years with many problems, burnt graphite, soft bellows, ect. One main problem was thrust in reverse would push water up the bellows and allow debri to get between the SST collar and graphite seal. If you pressed the collar tight the graphite would burn. This was on a boat with shaft rpm of 2k. We replaced all of the units with the last drop seal system and all issues where gone. I especially like the internal shaft brg on the seal assy. These were all on shafts of 1.75 dia. I believe the new brass OJ system would work great as long as the stuffing box is aligned with the shaft. Al

[csuggs]

Al - there is no stuffing box in my shaft log. Am I missing something?

[cadunkle]

Which Lasdrop seal did you use? What are the differences between the three models? I see them for $168 vs. $248 vs. $337.

I like that they all have a bearing that rides on the shaft to align the seal housing so no wear is placed on the seal. My shaft has a slight wobble. I will be pulling the shaft to confirm it is straight and then doing an alignment which will hopefully take out the wobble. I guess it wasn't too bad since I never felt any vibrations and the strut bushings are tight. Still makes me more comfortable to not have the actual seal doing the aligning to the shaft.

In the rare event I had to be towed, can these seals be run dry at low speeds or must the shaft be prevented from spinning?

[beast 496]

Al - there is no stuffing box in my shaft log. Am I missing something?

I miss wrote, Should have said shaft log.
The last drop seals we proto typed and spec'd was the Gen II G-134 List price of $481.00