Leaking Volvo Shaft seal on Jeanneau 54 DS

[blue_dream]

Hello,

Before I buy a new shaft seal I thought I would post here.

I have a 35 mm shaft with a Volvo dripless shaft seal, the boat has sat out of the water the past two years but the bilge had filled with fresh, every tech support guy I talked to said that it should be good though because its all rubber.

Before splashing I lubed up the shaft with a lot of water proof grease because I read you need to grease them. I also, without thinking about it, did spin the prop a fair amount while wire wheeling it while it had no grease (not sure if I damaged it?)

the rubber is way to hard to compress in order to burp (maybe this means its bad) when I launched but I have an attached lube thru hull and it was already leaking so I figured it didn't need burping although I tried.

So now a week after launching it drips slowly when not underway and underway it is a steady drip.

Could I have put too much grease on the shaft? is it worn and I should replace it?

Its going to be a pain getting the coupling off so I would like to make sure this one is toast before proceeding to put a new one.

thanks, any advice appreciated

[skipperpete]

How did you get grease into the shaft seal? The grease that comes with the seal originally is in a small toothpaste type tube with an extended nozzle that's just long enough to reach the sealing lips but you need to be able to squeeze the shaft seal to create a small gap to get that nozzle in. There is a copy of the volvo shaft seal on the market made of much harder rubber that makes the burp almost impossible, maybe you have one of those instead of the original.
Incidentally, in the case of a severe leak you can put a zip tie or perhaps a hose clamp around the shaft seal to get you home...... but not too tight, always be able to rotate the shaft by hand.

[blue_dream]

I had the seal slid forward because the boat was out of the water so I lubricated the whole shaft with grease and then slid the whole seal back onto it

Good to know about the knock offs looks like a new seal should be in my future

Thanks

[skipperpete]

That might have been what caused the seal to leak, the actual sealing lips are very fragile and sliding the whole thing along the shaft and then back again might have caused the sealing lips to flip over. If you get a new seal it will be supplied with an orange plastic installation collar that stops exactly this from happening.

[NYSail]

You don’t want to put too much grease in there as it will plug up the cutlass...... just a few squirts. I bought the volvo grease.... then squeeze hard and try to burp to remove air.

I love this seal...... low maintenance and does not drip a bit for me.

Good luck

Greg

[Oceansailor]

I do not think it to much grease. But I agree with skipperpete that the sliding might have damaged the seal. I guess the rubber and shaft was quiet dry. Another possibility is that you did not burb it enough. Might actually be more difficult if there is a lot of grease. I have one “copy” I guess there is more than one copy. It is actually easier to install as the hose clamp is much easier to tighten if in an awkward position. Burping is as difficult/easy as the original. Had 1000 + hours and 11 years on the original seal. It was not leaking.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by blue_dream

I had the seal slid forward because the boat was out of the water so I lubricated the whole shaft with grease and then slid the whole seal back onto it

Good to know about the knock offs looks like a new seal should be in my future

Thanks

The above and the age of the seal are your problem. FYI, the Volvo shaft seal is good for about 5 years assuming annual lubrication. That is done by squeezing the seal at the head to raise a small portion of the end enough to allow one to get the end of a flattened drinking straw filled with silicone grease under the edge of the seal and then gently squeezing the contents of the straw into the seal. If the rubber is too stiff to allow you to do the foregoing, it is too old and the seal should be replaced. Further, regardless the age of the seal, the "lips" of the seal are biased forward such that, by sliding the ungreased seal forward on the shaft you may have "inverted" one or more of the lips with did/could not recover when you slid it back into place over the, by then, greased and so smooth shaft.

FWIW...

[skalashn]

I suggest you take this opportunity to replace the Volvo seal with PSS. One of the best upgrades to the boat I've ever done. No maintenance and no leaks in 5 years.

[deblen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZbtsMlGj2o

[sandy stone]

I'd like to add one more anecdotal data point. When I bought my boat, it came with a Volvo shaft seal of unknown age. I pulled the prop shaft out of the boat to replace the cutlass bearing, and put it back in. Eight years later, the only thing I've done to the seal is grease it annually, and burp it when the boat went back into the water after a haulout; I did have to disconnect the coupling and slide the shaft back and forth to do some work on the transmission. So far it hasn't leaked a drop. YMMV.

[sailon46]

I fixed my leaky Volvo seal with coke straw, fill it with your grease then squeeze the lips of the straw tight and slipped the straw by the seals and by quizzing flat the straw from the back towards the seal you achieve a good amount Of grease into the seals. You burb and you’re set for another season. Volvo mechanic in Tortola shared that shop secret with me.
Ernie on the Mary Jane