V-drive Shaft Leaking (video)

[Idaho Mike 29]

So, do I need to fix this or is this an acceptable leak? Also, has anybody fixed a leaking V-drive shaft? Is it tough or easy?

 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByDdW7w_5nYYRkctcGt0SWVLRDg/view

 

(hopefully the link works!)

[chadr 328]

Pss shaft seal!!! You are the next candidate!!!

 

I didn't do my own. Had my local dealer install it and it cost about $300 in parts and $600 in labor. Some of the guys did their own. I am not a mechanic though!

[Idaho Mike 29]

So is the PSS shaft seal unit the way to go (a.k.a "dripless" from my reading), or should I just restuff with new packing? I'm thinking packing for the price, especially since with all the surf/ballast water leaking that ends up in the hull. It's not like my hull is ever dry during boat season.

[builtforspeed 79]

I as well replaced mine with PSS. You can try re- greasing existing dripless. You will need a grease gun and recommend putting an extension hose on it and the hard part is removing vent screw. I also bought the retaining collar with my PSS ,it helped with install and achieving proper compression on bellows . I think I wrote about it earlier. Make sure to use marine grease if you try to regrease. It is a great feeling not to have water leaking into boat,so it is worth the trouble,expense. Good luck .

Edited April 4, 2016 by builtforspeed

[chadr 328]

So is the PSS shaft seal unit the way to go (a.k.a "dripless" from my reading), or should I just restuff with new packing? I'm thinking packing for the price, especially since with all the surf/ballast water leaking that ends up in the hull. It's not like my hull is ever dry during boat season.

I tried the re-greasing alternative and found that it didn't stop. My bilge would pump out about 10 to 15 seconds every time we changed out riders so I didn't like the thought of a Bilge pump failure making a bigger problem. Also, we went to Lake Powell for a week and when it was sitting, the bilge would turn on about every 5 minutes or so and pump out for about 30 seconds. It was well worth the money spent.

[Cdifranco 463]

No chance of something like this being covered under warranty? Hoping to avoid this problem my self.

[Troy 234]

I did my own PSS seal. Defiantly the way to go.

[Dizzle 1]

This just happened to me too, except mine leaks from the rubber- can I just tighten? Or does this need to be repacked and gone through??

[chadr 328]

This just happened to me too, except mine leaks from the rubber- can I just tighten? Or does this need to be repacked and gone through??

You can try to grease it by removing the nut on the opposite side of the grease fitting and then pumping until it comes out the hole you removed the screw from. See if it stops it, but mine didn't.

[Jakelegg 6]

I have a sv244... how did you get the view of the seal? From the side?

[Idaho Mike 29]

I have a sv244... how did you get the view of the seal? From the side?

 

I had to lay on the starboard seat in rear of boat with my head and right arm inside the seat engine access panel, then put my phone deeper inside almost on the floor with light on. You can see where the shaft comes into the boat - getting the angle was pretty hard. Now imagine digging around inside to accomplish the fix! Obviously something that would require removal of the seat and floor panel.

 

The guy at the boat shop said the seal needed replaced, not just repacked. He also said that kind of seal is not supposed to leak at all (not sure on that though?). It eventually starts to leak as the seal wears down. Mine really wasn't that huge of a deal if it was just getting put in and out of the water while in use, but since I keep stored on the water all summer and don't check on the boat for several days at times I had to fix it for peace of mind. Also, it never gets better, only worse, obviously... :-)

 

BOATS!

[Idaho Mike 29]

Cost me $26 in parts, and $315 in labor to fix (3 hours). Mechanic Had to replace a seal and oil seal.

[h20king 794]

If you just replaced the seals on the existing unit you wasted your money. The stock marine hardware dripless unit is junk and will fail again. You should have taken the advice and spent the couple extra 100 bucks and installed the pss shaft seal system and been done. It would have been cheaper in the long run as you will have it in again in the future for the same problem.

[Kalidgh 37]

My seal was covered under my extended warranty. Bit of a war with the dealer but in the end all it cost me was my deductible

[Jakelegg 6]

I definitely need to get the PSS seal! Bilge comes on after every stop... can see water leaking behind the t-handle drain so I am assuming it is the shaft seal.... I can either get it fixed now or wait until the end of the summer. My boat is up on a lift when not in use but I guess I run the risk of a bilge failure however I do have a tsuami pump for an external ballast bag that I could use as long as the battery does not die! LOL

[2ndtimearound 7]

Now there's a thought for emergency bilge pump. I've got 3 in my boat, should suck it dry in a hurry.

[kylesullens 3]

I had the same failure on my elite v. I did the PSS install myself. It's not the easiest job, but I'm 2 hrs from the nearest dealer, so I tackled the job using a cherry picker to lift the vdrive out.

 

Whether you do it or the dealer does it, ge the pSS. I think it's criminal that Fineline doesn't install them at the factory.

[builtforspeed 79]

Do they still put the same one in the new boats? Or have they upgraded.

[Hein 63]

We had the OEM seal fail and replaced it with the PSS. The root cause was misalignment of the prop shaft to the V-drive gear box. This is a very critical alignment for many reasons. The misalignment also caused an oil seal in the the gear box to start leaking. We had to have the gear box pulled and the seals and bearings replaced.

[2ndtimearound 7]

I'd much rather have the std stuffing box, (not the model that fineline puts in, which is the model ID Mike has) with some GFO packing than the PSS seal I have in the Supreme. Much easier to maintain and no risk of blow out or gushing water when things go bad. I've got 800hrs on a GFO packing and never have to mess with it. My PSS seal has been problematic. Next project is to get it running right or junk it this winter and go back to a stuffing box with GFO.