Trojan Boat Forum

Just wanted to see who was running dripless shaft seals? if so do you like them, are they worth it and what is the maintenance on them like ?

I want to keep my bilge as dry as possible plus were thinking of keeping her in salt water for the first time and the idea of salt spray being thrown all over my "new"engines by a spinning shaft in my bilge makes me cringe!!

I have them in my f28 and bilge would be totally dry if not for air conditioner needing to be drained overboard. They have been in for one season and seem to work well, no drip period. You do have to route water from your raw water side to provide lubrication. If you do not go over 15 mph the manual says it is not needed, mine has water coming from a tap into the raw water line going to exhaust manifold. They would be a real chore to put in for v drives as you need to pull the coupler from the prop shaft so as to install.

I like em and will eventually install on my f36.

I have a LasDrop shaft seal (bellow type) that I installed in 2001 and have enjoyed a dry bilge ever since. Although I inspect it a few times per season, I've never had to perform any service on it.

me

SETSCREWS MUST BE TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT !!!!!!!!!

had to clean off the carbon surface once or twice in the last 9 years

otherwise . . . . good to go

RWS

I've installed a few and they work great. As an upgrade, you need to be careful of the type you go with. The lip seal type is great but the shaft's surface where the seal will mate with must be in perfect condition otherwise impefections will make for a poor seal. To overcome this on a less than perfect shaft, one can use a face seal type where the seal is not made against the surface of the shaft. This type works on the principle of surface tension to creat a seal. Often found on PWCs but widely used on inboards too. Both types are maintenance items and eventually need servicing. I find the lip seal type a little more forgiving when shaft alignment is less than perfect. If you see carbon dust in the bilge under your face seal, it's a sign of wear and there's something wrong, check alignment and installation.

Paul wrote:I have a LasDrop shaft seal (bellow type) that I installed in 2001 and have enjoyed a dry bilge ever since. Although I inspect it a few times per season, I've never had to perform any service on it.

+1

Installed in '04. No problems.

I use dripless GFO packing, no drips.
http://gfopacking.com/

I have NORSCOT dripless shaft seals in the 1995 350 express with 454 Crusaders V drives. With over 800 hrs and have zero problems. When I had to rebuild the STBD engine, I also replaced the lip seals for the shaft seal. NORSCOT is still in operation and they sent me the right one and install was easy. It take about 30 hours of run time to get the seal to stop dripping ATF but that's the normal break in time.

I entertained the idea of dripless seals too, but was talked out of them. My mechanic uses the GFO packing on the Baltimore harbor water taxis (and on my boat too!). He says that they want them replaced at the end of every season just because. When he takes them out, he can't tell the old ones from the new ones, except for compression set. Mine do not leak at all. Because I'm OCD and "ahem" retentive, I shoot my seals with an IR thermometer after most runs. They read the same temps as the stringers (no I don't monitor stringer temp, but I shoot it to get ambient temperature with minimum effects of water temp on the hull bottom or insolation on the hull sides).

I'm also using the GFO packing. The GFO packing is dripless when the shaft is not spinning. I get about 1 drop every 6 seconds when the shaft is spinning. The amount of water that comes in is minimal, and it's a much simpler design than a true dripless shaft seal.

The Dog House wrote:I'm also using the GFO packing. The GFO packing is dripless when the shaft is not spinning. I get about 1 drop every 6 seconds when the shaft is spinning. The amount of water that comes in is minimal, and it's a much simpler design than a true dripless shaft seal.

Give the bushing another 1/4 turn or less and you will get no drip. It is not needed to drip while running.

yorklyn wrote:the idea of salt spray being thrown all over my "new"engines by a spinning shaft in my bilge makes me cringe!!

Even with traditional stuffing, if you are spraying all over, you need to snug up your stuffing boxes.

With that being said, that GFO stuffing seems much more cost effective.

ready123 wrote:I use dripless GFO packing, no drips.
http://gfopacking.com/

If you don't mind sharing which size and where you buy it from... I also need to drop my rudders this spring, so I may as well treat them too.

is GFO just "gore tex" packing material? if so Its what I put in when I redid my stuffing boxes. The guy who replaced my cutlass bearings, straightened my strut and inspected my shafts recommended it even though it was alot more then flax packing.
At this point if I can limit the amount of drips without having to run the credit card up , ill give it a try.

appreciate the info on dripless seals, glad to hear that they work and need little maintenance . looks like they may be an option in the future

Thanks!

I ran the gore-tex for 4 years before my refit.

It worked great!

the issue here is not whether it works or not...... the issue is that the packing nuts are damned hard to get to and with all the time we spend on maintenance, if you can eliminate something like checking on and tightening up two shaft packing nuts, why the hell not ?

RWS