Shaft seals replacement in 2007 340DA

[melida]

My 2007 340/375DA has tides sure seals, 1,75" diameter shafts and there is a spare lip seal on the port shaft which is dripping very little amount of water while underway, and there is no spare on the starboard and it is running without any drip.

I'd like to replace the lip seal -not brave to do it in the water in case bilge pumps stops or can't handle the gush- and add 2 more spares for each shaft. So I took photos and shooted a video to see the part number on the spare seal 15557-something but there are a few different part numbered 1,75" seal at the tides website and can't deteremine which one to order.

[video]https://youtu.be/iykBH2tMChE[/video]







Here are my questions if someone can answer to do the right thing.

1) So how can I know which seal I need to buy ?

2) Must be the lip seal carrier also replaced ?

3) As you can see in the pics and video the spare seal is dirty and can easly move. Can I clean and use it ? And is that play normal or it must be tight fit ? So is it useless ?

4) As I searched about the seals and read that Frank Webster recommends to replace the seal body. Is it the black housing that contains the lip seal or the blue convoluted hose ? Should I replace it ?

I'll be cruising on sunday and gonna record a video while underway to show the dripping.

TIA

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

When one of mine started dripping I found a video on youtube of the spare seal being replaced while in the water - no big deal. I did mine in the water and water didn't really gush in, just ran in a bit. It didn't take much time to cut the old seal off the shaft then slide the new one into the carrier which stopped the flow. I did find some scoring on the shaft so I loosened the hose clamps on the stern tube and repositioned the seal onto a smooth section of the shaft. That was 4yrs ago - no issues since. Next time, I'll have to pull the shafts since there are no more spare seals but I wouldn't suggest doing that as long as you have a spare to utilize.

Tides can help you determine the part number from your shaft size when the time comes.
The carrier if fine to reuse.
The spare should be fine, just clean with some soapy water before installing.
I didn't have any issues with the seal body with mine, but I suppose it could be worn that badly - you have little to lose to give the spare a try.

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Here's the youtube video… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFuwnX_moE

 

[bankyf]

How many hours on the boat? If you pull the shafts to do this, be prepared for the possibility of needing shafts and the seal carriers. Over time, the seal carriers will wear groves into the shafts. I pulled my port shaft for a slow drip and that is exactly what I found with mine. Ended up doing all new shafts, seals and cutlass bearings while I was there. When I called the OEM supplier to order new shafts, I was told that the problem I had was so common that they kept 340 shafts on the shelf ready to go. Tides denied having ever heard of the problem though. Hard to believe that a plastic seal carrier can eat up stainless shafts, but they do. I believe that silt in the water is a determining factor in how quickly this occurs. I found Tides to be very helpful and telling me exactly what I needed based on boat year and model.

 

[bankyf]

My 2007 340/375DA has tides sure seals, 1,75" diameter shafts and there is a spare lip seal on the port shaft which is dripping very little amount of water while underway, and there is no spare on the starboard and it is running without any drip.

I'd like to replace the lip seal -not brave to do it in the water in case bilge pumps stops or can't handle the gush- and add 2 more spares for each shaft. So I took photos and shooted a video to see the part number on the spare seal 15557-something but there are a few different part numbered 1,75" seal at the tides website and can't deteremine which one to order.

[video]https://youtu.be/iykBH2tMChE[/video]







Here are my questions if someone can answer to do the right thing.

1) So how can I know which seal I need to buy ?

2) Must be the lip seal carrier also replaced ?

3) As you can see in the pics and video the spare seal is dirty and can easly move. Can I clean and use it ? And is that play normal or it must be tight fit ? So is it useless ?

4) As I searched about the seals and read that Frank Webster recommends to replace the seal body. Is it the black housing that contains the lip seal or the blue convoluted hose ? Should I replace it ?

I'll be cruising on sunday and gonna record a video while underway to show the dripping.

TIA

To answer your questions.

1. Call tides, they are very helpful.
2. The spare seal carrier does not need to be replaced. The main seal carrier is not supposed to need to be replaced, but likely will.
3. I wouldn't trust a seal that has been hanging out on a shaft for ten years, except in a temporary emergency situation. The seal material is probably dried out and won't last.
4. Yes, you should most likely replace it. The new seal carrier will come with the black part and the convoluted tube. The convoluted tubes mine came with were not the best option for the boat and I believe I ended up reusing the old ones. They are silicone and there should be no issue reusing them.

I believe theses seals will begin to leak because the wear on the inside of the carrier and shaft allows the seal to wobble slightly. If the seal isn't held perfectly straight it will begin to drip. If this is the case on yours, replacing only the lip seal will just be a temporary fix.

 

[fwebster]

I replace the seal housing every time I need a lip seal for a couple of reasons. While it is possible to replace the lip seal in the water if you have an extra in the seal carrier ahead of the housing, on smaller V-drives, this is a pretty hard job unless you remove some stuff to allow better access. The chances of damaging the new seal are high. All this to say, the seal is going to be running water into he boat the whole time you try to remove and replace the seal. SO if you re going to have to lift the boat out of the water to do the replacement, the haul out costs (at least in our area) are about as much as the actual seal housing replacement. SO if you are going to haul out the boat, why not spend a little more money and renew everything and you should be good for another 8+ years.

As to reusing the old housing, keep in mind that if the housing is good, it holds the lip seal centered on the shaft. What usually wears out the lip seal is a housing the has wear and some run-out in it allowing the lip seal to move about on the shaft. I'd almost promise you that your housings are worn just on the basis of the condition of your shafts. They are salt incrusted, scored and have some pitting in them. The shafts need to be re=polished before you install any new seal parts or we'll be trying to explain to you next year why your seals failed after only a few months.

Tides does sell only the seal housing assembly. You do not need to buy/replace new silicon rubber (blue hump) hoses or cooling kits, so that will save about $125.00 (est.) /side.

Finally, Tides sells both seals in both imperial and in metric sizes...be sure you know which you need. Also, the seals are sold by shaft diameter and stern tube size so it is pretty easy to figure out which you need.

 

[cfd95]

Ditto with what was said by everyone else.
I just replaced both of mine with new complete assemblies and new spare seals.
My cutlass hearings were bad too I did those too.
Check the water feed lines too. Mine had 3/8 fuel line which was hard and brittle.
I replaced all the feed lines with silicone hose.
Tides says if you have a groove in the shaft you can position the carrier a little further up on the shaft log so the seal rides on a smooth part of the shaft.

 

[melida]

When one of mine started dripping I found a video on youtube of the spare seal being replaced while in the water - no big deal. I did mine in the water and water didn't really gush in, just ran in a bit. It didn't take much time to cut the old seal off the shaft then slide the new one into the carrier which stopped the flow. I did find some scoring on the shaft so I loosened the hose clamps on the stern tube and repositioned the seal onto a smooth section of the shaft. That was 4yrs ago - no issues since. Next time, I'll have to pull the shafts since there are no more spare seals but I wouldn't suggest doing that as long as you have a spare to utilize.

Tides can help you determine the part number from your shaft size when the time comes.
The carrier if fine to reuse.
The spare should be fine, just clean with some soapy water before installing.
I didn't have any issues with the seal body with mine, but I suppose it could be worn that badly - you have little to lose to give the spare a try.

Thanks Jimmy,

It seems leaking more than dropping as I recorded a video on sunday while on plane and after the trip tightened the screws and today gonna replace the leap seal with the spare one on the shaft as you described.

Will see how's the carrier and housing is. And then gonna contact them to order the correct parts.

[video]https://youtu.be/SjbEuztKm84[/video]

 

[melida]

Here's the youtube video… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFuwnX_moE

Thanks again for the video, it seems easy to do it in the water, hope will do it in a short time before sinking my boat.:smt021

 

[melida]

How many hours on the boat? If you pull the shafts to do this, be prepared for the possibility of needing shafts and the seal carriers. Over time, the seal carriers will wear groves into the shafts. I pulled my port shaft for a slow drip and that is exactly what I found with mine. Ended up doing all new shafts, seals and cutlass bearings while I was there. When I called the OEM supplier to order new shafts, I was told that the problem I had was so common that they kept 340 shafts on the shelf ready to go. Tides denied having ever heard of the problem though. Hard to believe that a plastic seal carrier can eat up stainless shafts, but they do. I believe that silt in the water is a determining factor in how quickly this occurs. I found Tides to be very helpful and telling me exactly what I needed based on boat year and model.

It's 2007 and now at 272 hours and when I bought it last year 5/20 had 211 hours.

I'll be out of water at the end of may for a week to scrape the bottom to bare gelcoat for fresh barier coat and antifouling job, sending the props for balancing even I don't have any vibration throughout all rpm ranges but for better speed/take-off and efficiency and ofcourse adding spare lip seals then aligning the safths.

Since my boat is powered with diesels I have 1,75" diameter shafts and part manual says for them Aquamet 22, but gas 340's have 1,5" diameter and Aquamet 19 shafts if I'm not mistaken. So should I stiil need to worry about shaft failure ? And also having no vibration still cutless bearings need to be changed since they are 9 years old, are they wear items or marine age kill them prematurely ?

Thanks again.

 

[melida]

To answer your questions.

1. Call tides, they are very helpful.
2. The spare seal carrier does not need to be replaced. The main seal carrier is not supposed to need to be replaced, but likely will.
3. I wouldn't trust a seal that has been hanging out on a shaft for ten years, except in a temporary emergency situation. The seal material is probably dried out and won't last.
4. Yes, you should most likely replace it. The new seal carrier will come with the black part and the convoluted tube. The convoluted tubes mine came with were not the best option for the boat and I believe I ended up reusing the old ones. They are silicone and there should be no issue reusing them.

I believe theses seals will begin to leak because the wear on the inside of the carrier and shaft allows the seal to wobble slightly. If the seal isn't held perfectly straight it will begin to drip. If this is the case on yours, replacing only the lip seal will just be a temporary fix.

Thanks again.

 

[melida]

I replace the seal housing every time I need a lip seal for a couple of reasons. While it is possible to replace the lip seal in the water if you have an extra in the seal carrier ahead of the housing, on smaller V-drives, this is a pretty hard job unless you remove some stuff to allow better access. The chances of damaging the new seal are high. All this to say, the seal is going to be running water into he boat the whole time you try to remove and replace the seal. SO if you re going to have to lift the boat out of the water to do the replacement, the haul out costs (at least in our area) are about as much as the actual seal housing replacement. SO if you are going to haul out the boat, why not spend a little more money and renew everything and you should be good for another 8+ years.

As to reusing the old housing, keep in mind that if the housing is good, it holds the lip seal centered on the shaft. What usually wears out the lip seal is a housing the has wear and some run-out in it allowing the lip seal to move about on the shaft. I'd almost promise you that your housings are worn just on the basis of the condition of your shafts. They are salt incrusted, scored and have some pitting in them. The shafts need to be re=polished before you install any new seal parts or we'll be trying to explain to you next year why your seals failed after only a few months.

Tides does sell only the seal housing assembly. You do not need to buy/replace new silicon rubber (blue hump) hoses or cooling kits, so that will save about $125.00 (est.) /side.

Finally, Tides sells both seals in both imperial and in metric sizes...be sure you know which you need. Also, the seals are sold by shaft diameter and stern tube size so it is pretty easy to figure out which you need.

Great thanks Frank for your recommendations. It's a honour to have answers for my questions.

I can fit the passage in the bilge between the engines and it was easy to reach and work to the port engine while installing the Wolverine oil pan heaters as I'm right-handed and will give it a try but not sure how easily I'll change the shaft seals with the exiting spare to minimize the leak untill end of may.

Yes the shaft have salty water fouling and needed to be sanded/polished like a propeller.

I'll haul out the boat for a week at the end of may to do the bottom job/prop balance/shaft alignment etc with a discount from my marina cost of a 3 day stay instead of paying 7 days, so gonna do what you recommend about changing the seal housing for a fresh start for both shafts as I'm thinking to keep this boat at least 10 years and do some 200+ Nmile trips without problems.

I measured the shaft and it's diametre is 4,44~cm/1,75" and gonna measure the stern tube to order the correct parts but it seems I have imperial size fittings altough my boat is 375-220 volt.

Once again great thanks, I'll report back of updates.

 

[melida]

Ditto with what was said by everyone else.
I just replaced both of mine with new complete assemblies and new spare seals.
My cutlass hearings were bad too I did those too.
Check the water feed lines too. Mine had 3/8 fuel line which was hard and brittle.
I replaced all the feed lines with silicone hose.
Tides says if you have a groove in the shaft you can position the carrier a little further up on the shaft log so the seal rides on a smooth part of the shaft.

Thanks,
Will check them.

 

[melida]

Contacted with Tides Marine and they were very helpfull for choosing the right parts that I need, ordered them and waiting for delivery within a week.

 

[melida]

I got my parts from Tides.
Now thinking about the cutlass bearings. Should I go on and change them to, boat is 9 years old albeit there is no vibration throughout all rpm ranges x2 engines ?