Hollex shaft seal leaking - retensioning advice required

[Jaden44]

I have a Hollex propeller shaft seal that has been leaking a little. The seal externals looks similar to a dripless-seal but I'm told it has different internals and sealing design.

My seal currently leaks x2 litres after three hours of engine running and a 5-6 drops/minute when in the marina. My inspection indicates that the friction fit between the counter-slider ring and the slider-ring is a little sloppy and I hope is the cause of the leak.

I propose to loosen the sealing faces of the assembly and retension so that extra pressure is placed by the slider-ring against the counter-sliding-ring that is itself attached to the rubber bellows (being the two working faces).

Stats:
My 44' boat is currently on the hard stand getting bottom paint so I need to get this done before re-launching.
The Hollex seal is fitted to a 30mm ss propeller shaft with a Max-prop on the back.
Engine hours on the seal = aprox 6,500hrs
Date of manufacture of the seal = aprox 1995.

My research indicates that the Hollex seal is/was manufactured in the U.K. and is therefore may not common in the U.S. and is most probably found on U.K and European yachts. I'm not sure if the manufacturer is still in business or if these seals are still available.

I've found manufactures installation instructions (copy attached) on the Web but these are silent/vague as to the amount of pressure needs to be applied to the sealing faces or how much the rubber bellows need to be compressed. Maybe a more detailed set of installation instruction were supplied at time of purchase.

I will be most appreciative if a member of the forum can provide me with better information on the extent of the pressure that should be applied to the working faces of the counter-slider ring and the slider-ring and if there should be a visible compression of the rubber bellows.

Thank you!

[DeepFrz]

You need to read the instructions more carefully. There is a chart for the tension and instructions on how to set it.

[Jaden44]

Thank you DeepFriz for your reply. I've re-read the manufacturer's instruction sheet again and can now see the table that you've referenced and the manufacturer's suggested initial adjustment is +/- 4mm.

I’ll admit that I’m embarrassed. To other Forum members, please consider this thread closed.