Dripless Seal

[BeachFarmer]

Greetings:

I have a 2008 Supra Launch 21 SSV with dripless seal connected to a hot water line. I'm not sure what line it is but could be the manifold. It has run fine over time and it doesn't appear to leak...maybe a drip now and then. I purchased the boat new this way and have not made any modifications to it.

I've search and read various posts indicating that the water supply to the dripless should be from a cool water source. As the boat continues to age, I concerned that this could be a point of failure...or should this be a case of "if it isn't broke don't fix it".

Does anyone know if Skier Choice/Supra has a directive on this? Also, I've read there are cool water sources to connect to but I'm concerned of cutting the wrong hose. Any pictures out there?

Thanks in advance...John

[docdrs]

The easiest way is to draw water off your tranny cooler drain plug if it is between the thermostat and the impeller. I think it is a problem on the cat engines as the exhaust water is hotter

[meteorman]

Adding on to what docdrs said, if you want to connect to the cool side, the only place you can do it is between the thermostat and impeller pump. The water feeding the dripless has to come off the "pressure" side of the raw water (impeller) pump. Once it goes into the engine it's hot. Most of the dripless kits I've seen come with 1" fittings and the only hoses on my engine that are 1" are the ones to the risers. So if you want to do the cold water, you'd have to make an adapter of some sort. This is my first season with the dripless so I can't comment on the longevity. If yours has had it since '08, seems like it's doing OK though. Most of the dripless designs have replaceable seals. It's a little bit of a hassle but totally doable to change them. That would probably be easier/better than messing around with the plumbing, especially if it came from the factory with your current setup.