Dripless Shaft seals - anyone done this?

The cooling of the failed engine can be set up with any of these systems via a crossover. Why would that be an exclusive advantage of any system in particular.
 
Frank told me about the silicone trick. It keeps the seal lubed and doesn't deteriorate the rubber (or whatever the heck it's made of). It's on my spring checklist of things to do.
 
The cooling of the failed engine can be set up with any of these systems via a crossover. Why would that be an exclusive advantage of any system in particular.

I am also curios about this question of yours, It seems all which have the water connection would do the same.
 
The old Tides I replaced did not feature a cross-over. Both sides were original and I only replaced the port (stbd didn't leak). But I was able to create a cross-over as per instructions from the people at Tides.
 
This question of the water cross over, why would anyone care?

A failed engine means the shaft is not turning, or should not be.
When you need to limp back on one engine you should always lock the dead shaft with something.
I have a pipe wrench and clamp setup for this exact purpose.
 
With a failed engine, if you put the shaft in neutral, steering the boat is very very difficult because of the drag on the dead side. If the dead side is in neutral the prop windmills in the water and the shaft turns whether you like it or not. It is just easier to use the crossover cooling water feed than to try tying off the shaft. You can tie off/lock down the shaft but the dragging shaft really slows you down. You will be lucky to make 8-10 kts on one engine anyway so if you have a distance to go, correcting your course and running very low speeds makes for a real long day and maybe even a dangerous one, depending upon weather and seas.
 
Yes but you can burn out the transmission that way. Putting it in neutral doesn't release the tail piece and the disc's can get burned out. Your not worried about that?
 
That all depends upon the type transmission you have.

I'll admit that I didn't see that you have an '88 with Allison gears. I just don't know on that combination, but most of us have ZF transmissions and their manuals clearly say towing with the shaft turning will not damage the transmission. But, my points about running on one engine are valid. I hope none of us ever have to, but I have (......don't ask- stupid tax!) My boat is a sweetheart on 2 engines but a bear to handle on one.
 
Yeah, the Alison M's have an emergency get home feature that can be manually engaged, but when being towed or under way without the engine running the shafts need to be locked or disconnected. Alisons are great transmissions and can take a beating, much like the Detroit's that power them (sorry old school). I did not know about the ZF'S not being needed to be locked, nice feature.
 
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So how do i know which ones i have?
 
I will try to remember to get pics tomorrow,i dont remember any info on the zf tag about them and the survey pics were not very helpfull on that subject,there were hoses in the way(possibly the crossovers).I would be embarrassed to show those pics anyway it was very dirty down there.
 
You will need to double check, but the PSS seals do not need water for cooling in the 8-10 knot range. It is at higher speeds that PSS requires water.

With a failed engine, if you put the shaft in neutral, steering the boat is very very difficult because of the drag on the dead side. If the dead side is in neutral the prop windmills in the water and the shaft turns whether you like it or not. It is just easier to use the crossover cooling water feed than to try tying off the shaft. You can tie off/lock down the shaft but the dragging shaft really slows you down. You will be lucky to make 8-10 kts on one engine anyway so if you have a distance to go, correcting your course and running very low speeds makes for a real long day and maybe even a dangerous one, depending upon weather and seas.
 
There was nothing on the transmission plates about the dripless but i took a few pictures,dont mind the mess i am getting into the engine room starting today.Its a lot cleaner than it used to be but i am taking the raw water sides apart to clean everything and repaint what i can while its removed.
 

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There was nothing on the transmission plates about the dripless but i took a few pictures,dont mind the mess i am getting into the engine room starting today.Its a lot cleaner than it used to be but i am taking the raw water sides apart to clean everything and repaint what i can while its removed.

I think guys thought you wanted to know what transmissions you had (at least I did). Now I realize you want to know what shaft seals you have. Those are Tides Strong Seals. No crossovers
 
Yep. That's what I had. Go wayyyyyyy back to post #3. The link there is worth a look if you want to see how these things tick.

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Thanks,they do have crossovers though.And engine supplied water from each engine.The transmissions are zf220.I know this because i have been researching trolling valves also.
 
A crossover would show TWO hoses going to the unit. Yours (and mine) show one. I set up a crossover by placing a T in the water line on my stbd dripless (the one I didn't replace). I did this after consulting with the people at Tides. They said it could be done if the T is no further than 12" from the seal. If you don't have a T that close you don't have a crossover.

Post #41 and 44 of the thread linked to in post #3 explains all this.
 
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Yes i read the entire thread,i too have the T fitting crossover,so the po wasnt an entire idiot just a slob about his maintainance.I scrubbed those brown stains under the seals with purple power and hot water a few times next is the steamer!The tides dont drip so the stains must be from the previous setup ,probably the original packings leaking for years.
 
Try a little FSR on the rust stains. Works wonders but be carefull with it. It's a mild acid. Could damage the environment (Oh, the humanity!)
Your bilge looks pretty good for a 23yo boat. My '89 was much worse, and it was too far gone to make better without a full paint job.
 

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