I've been fighting a leak w/ my PSS seal since the
new boat was launched nearly 2 years ago. Mfr kept saying it was "normal" and would go away as the carbon disk broke in. I knew this was BS from previous
boats, where the seal stopped leaking after just a couple of hours. I finally decided to figure out the cause of the leak. Tried both things suggested in the manual...1.cleaning out the mating faces with a rag to eliminate any trapped debris, and 2. compressing the bellows a bit more.
In doing this, I finally found the source of the leak...it is dripping from both set screw holes!!! It even got a bit worse when I tightened the bellows.
So I now know that at least one of the o-rings, the aft one, is damaged, likely when the shaft was originally installed. The lock tite was probably acting as a bit of a
sealant, and when I removed the set screws, that is gone, thus the slightly increased drip rate.
So, I need to
haul out to replace the o-rings. The problem is that I'm in the Canary Islands, preparing to cross to the Carib. The yard here in Lanzarote does not want to haul us until I have the o-rings in hand, understandably. We can't match the original rings without hauling out, and then risking that the
replacements are not available locally.....classic catch 22. PYI offers the
maintenance kit, but it will take 2-3 weeks to get here, at the very least. The joys of cruising...There are industrial supply shops here, but I cannot find the exact dimensions for the rings. All just say to bring in the old ones!!!
PYI does not provide the dimensional info online. I sent them an
email, but they are closed until next Monday, and the yard here needs to schedule me now if we are to have any chance of lifting next week. After new years they have a several week backlog before we can get hauled out!!!
So, I know it's a long shot, but does anyone have a PSS seal for a 35mm (1-3/8") shaft not yet installed, or the
rebuild kit, who can measure the o-ring with a calipers? Thanks