Leaking Shaft Seal

OK, was having issues with engine stalling/sputtering when hot. Swapped ignition coils and problem followed the coil. Easy enough fix. But was out on open water and headed back to mooring to resolve. In the meantime, for some reason, this engine threw the serpentine belt and overheated. I limped back on one engine. Probably an hour and 2-3 miles. Went back out to boat later and saw bilge pump coming on every 30 seconds. Opened hatch to see water pouring in shaft seal of dead engine. Good times calling emergency pull out at 7PM Friday night. $$$. So, did i screw up by not securing shaft for the ride home and did I fry the seal? Have never dealt with this before and wondering what to do next. Please advise! Thanks

Sounds like the seal is shot... But it should have a cross over to keep them both wet, if one motor goes down.... You might not need to come out of the water,,, There should be a spare seal on ur shaft and u can change it while ur in the water... Also just make sure you have a cross over and the line isn't clogged for future problems...

Siboatguy said:

Sounds like the seal is shot... But it should have a cross over to keep them both wet, if one motor goes down.... You might not need to come out of the water,,, There should be a spare seal on ur shaft and u can change it while ur in the water... Also just make sure you have a cross over and the line isn't clogged for future problems...

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Si, thanks for the advice. I have never dealt with this before and am learning a lot. There is no crossover, they are individual. Will be heading to boat yard soon to see if there is the proverbial spare on the shaft. Just want to get back in the water asap!

So, after spending many hours today trying to resolve this issue. I still have a leak between the blue hose that goes from the thru hull that the shaft goes thru and where the hose connects to the tides marine dripless shaft seal. I made a video of my concerns. I could not get the hose to seal to the shaft seal. I am worried that the metal bands being loose is my issue. Anyone else dealt with this and can offer me some advice??

The blue hose is what connects your boat's fibreglass shaft tube with the Dripless shaft seal casing. There shouldn't be any room to stick your finger between the blue hose and your shaft seal casing. So, either the blue hose has crept back towards the fibreglass shaft tube OR the shaft seal has crept towards the transmission. Try moving the two back together and re-clamping onto the blue hose so there is no leaking at that connection.

Usually when the lip seal within the housing begins to wear and leak, the water will leak from where the shaft enters the shaft seal. Your seal appears to be an older type of Tides seal and I'm not sure if the lip seal can be replaced. The newer ones can easily be replaced if spare seals had already been left on the shaft between the working seal and the transmission.

If you were needing to replace the seal, I'd take a look at Lasdrop shaft seals as a better alternative to a lip seal or a mechanical PSS seal.

Checkout Lasdrop vs other seals...