Yanmar Sd60 shaft issues

[BobMillington]

Curious if others have had an issue with shaft seals and sharing my experience.

Recently had my local Yanmar technician replace my oil and water seals on the sail drive shaft. Just hit 760 hours on my Yanmar 4JH4-te w/sd60. My boat is 4 years old and figured I should have those changed out while the boat is on the hard for other service. The Yanmar technician mentioned I had some wear on the shaft, after looking at it with him it was very minor but I could see a faint line were the seal was, running your finger across it you could feel a very slight ridge. This was around the water seal. The sail drive oil was very clean and the water indicator has never triggered in the past. The tech thought the oil didn’t have any water, but recommended I replace the shaft. So I am forking out 750usd for a new shaft. I asked him his opinion as to how frequent the shaft needs replacing and he said since the sd60 has no spacers it may be every time I replace the seals.

Does anyone know how frequent the water and oil sail drive shaft seals need to be replaced? Is there any spacing or other fixes for a shaft with very minimal wear from the seals without a new shaft? I’m thinking I should replace the seals every two years but not sure. Trying to decipher fact from fiction and maybe learn something along the way.

[HeinSdL]

Originally Posted by BobMillington

Curious if others have had an issue with shaft seals and sharing my experience.

Recently had my local Yanmar technician replace my oil and water seals on the sail drive shaft. Just hit 760 hours on my Yanmar 4JH4-te w/sd60. My boat is 4 years old and figured I should have those changed out while the boat is on the hard for other service. The Yanmar technician mentioned I had some wear on the shaft, after looking at it with him it was very minor but I could see a faint line were the seal was, running your finger across it you could feel a very slight ridge. This was around the water seal. The sail drive oil was very clean and the water indicator has never triggered in the past. The tech thought the oil didn’t have any water, but recommended I replace the shaft. So I am forking out 750usd for a new shaft. I asked him his opinion as to how frequent the shaft needs replacing and he said since the sd60 has no spacers it may be every time I replace the seals.

Does anyone know how frequent the water and oil sail drive shaft seals need to be replaced? Is there any spacing or other fixes for a shaft with very minimal wear from the seals without a new shaft? I’m thinking I should replace the seals every two years but not sure. Trying to decipher fact from fiction and maybe learn something along the way.

I am not aware exactly of the manufacturer recommended replacement interval but I have some thoughts. I maintain my own SD40.

1. Limiting factor on lifespan is the steel circular spring on the outer seal which is in contact with the (salt) water. When I recently replaced the seals that spring was almost gone, I was just in time replacing the seal. There are non-metallic substitutes available though. Your 2 year interval is more or less what I stick to, though I inspect first and might not necessarily replace.
2. The inner seal 'faces inwards' (function to keep the oil in, spring in contact with oil) and has a much easier life as a result.
3. When putting on the prop (in my case a flexofold with spacer), applying a good amount of grease before sliding on spacer tends to protect the outer spring in my view since the grease is still there at next inspection (although my seasons are short and my boat is stored on the hard in winter).
4. I have some wear on the shaft but I find the two grooves rather superficial although you can feel them with the nails but I continue with what I have.
5. There is a known issue though with the SD40 which may not apply to the SD60 which is premature wear on the input shaft. Coupled with excess pressure in the drive due to warming oil + no vent, this led to oil loss on my unit, as evidenced by oil dripping out from under the bell housing.
6. Finally, some users advocate creating an overpressure in the unit relative to the water outside through a header tank and having both seals face inwards. I haven't done this because I am still fixing item 5 above which is caused exactly by having too much pressure in the unit.

On a side note, be aware that the water alarm on the unit is not related to water in the oil, rather to water entry between the upper and lower seals, so the alarm alerts you to a potential failure of the lower rubber seal. This is another discussion completely driving a lot of people's decision to stay away from saildrives. Having said that, I recently replaced my lower seal after 18 years of service and it came out looking no different to the replacement I purchased.

[RoadRacer]

SD60 shaft seal lifespan is a joke! Mine have failed at 65hrs and I’m now setting in Charleston Harbor with my port seals shot with 240hrs!

[RoadRacer]

Can someone verify the dipstick thread in the SD60 is 24x3mm? Thanks!

[RoadRacer]

Wanted to provide an update on my SD60 sail drive shaft/seal issue in case others are/will be having the same issue. Both of my sail drives have a little less than 250hrs on them and both had the seals replaced in Annapolis before the boat was launched in April 2020. One was replaced (Stbd) under Yanmar warranty because of water in the oil and I paid to to have the other side done as a preventive action. My 2-yr Yanmar SD60 warranty expired the end of October!

We’re heading south and stopped at Charleston SC to wait out Eta when I discovered water in the Port side drive. I had noticed a slight cloudiness on the dipstick at the end of October but thought it was perhaps condensation or the fact that the oil was 6 months old and not perfectly clear.

I’ve had the boat hauled and both sail drives disassembled by a local Yanmar service tech. Both shafts and bearings are shot and need replacement which I authorized. (I’m in conversation with the regional Yanmar rep as I believe this is a manufacturing defect that was present well before my warranty expired)

I was notified this AM that the machine shop could not acquire from Yanmar (or the sail drive manufacturer, KZ) the necessary dimensions to locate the drive gear on the new shaft. Therefore, I will be having Speedi-Sleeves installed on the old shafts with new bearings and putting it back together. I have purchased vented oil filler caps and will share my solution with CF once completed.

I’m writing this saga here as I know of others with Yanmar SD60s that have the same failures.

Chuck

[BobMillington]

Keep us posted what you find out from Yanmar about the Seals.....Im sure hoping the new ones I put on last month last more than a few months! Sadly, If the water seal leaks it will most likely lead to a shaft grove and potential replacement. Meaning a 750 shaft replacement is required. Wish I could find someone at Yanmar to talk to about this....It seems like they will only talk to vendors and not their customers.

[eugenekeane]

Roadrunner, I'm having similar issues on the SD60s. Did you ever find a 24x3mm fitting for replacing the oil filler/dipstick. I want to install a header tank. Alternatively I guess I can connect to the oil extraction hose. I know this is a couple of years old but the problem continues. Thanks.

[RoadRacer]

Hello,

I located the vented caps from Judd Racing in the UK and they shipped them quickly to the US. I understand that KTM cycles use a similar vented cap but couldn’t find them at the time in SC.

I purchased my reservoir tanks from Aircraft Spruce. I’ve attached a few pictures of the equipment.

Lastly, I ended up reinstalling SKF Speedi-Sleeves on my shafts as the Yanmar Tech in Charleston did a terrible job. The SKF material is much better than the shaft for lip seal performance.

[eugenekeane]

Thanks RoadRacer. looks like you have a Lagoon cat. Mine's a 42. On my second set of sail drives and water intrusion again after 250 hours or so. As I'm about to spend $2k for a haul out I'd like to know more about the Speedi-Sleeves if you have any references. By the way have you had any further water intrusion in the last few years. It seems like we are trying to equalize about 1 psi of water pressure which is not a lot but the problem seems to be rampant and it would be good to know if this solves the intrusion problem. Thanks again for the fast response.

[RoadRacer]

I have a 2019 Lagoon L42 with 4JH57s.
No further water intrusion in our SD60 drives. Also, the header tanks and clear tubing allow immediate inspection of the oil condition if water would be present.

Here is the part# for the SKF Speedi-Sleeves. I pressed them on my self but any decent trans or machine shop can locate them. I was initially reluctant to “sleeve” the prop shafts of my new boat but after learning about the SKF material, it is a much better long-term solution.

[eugenekeane]

Hi RoadRacer,

Awesome! Mine is a 2019 also with about 500 hours on the engines. Same setup as you. I'll line the SKF sleeves up as an option when I haul out. I'm not getting much comfort from the local Yanmar reps so really good to have options. Thanks again for the great information and advice. Happy to share my experiences with you on all the other systems.

[morsail]

Originally Posted by RoadRacer

I have a 2019 Lagoon L42 with 4JH57s.
No further water intrusion in our SD60 drives. Also, the header tanks and clear tubing allow immediate inspection of the oil condition if water would be present.

Here is the part# for the SKF Speedi-Sleeves. I pressed them on my self but any decent trans or machine shop can locate them. I was initially reluctant to “sleeve” the prop shafts of my new boat but after learning about the SKF material, it is a much better long-term solution.

Attachment 261196Attachment 261197

Hey, I am looking for the mm size of the shaft seals on the SD60. Not on the parts list, YouTube, or google search on forums. I have an SKF store near me and would like to get some spares for the SD60.

[sailnrock]

Hi
Im trying to find out what year and model yanmar my friend has for Him, The enginge #by the motormount is 2S1429,, And under rocker cover # is 1215201-1300.
Thanks For any help

[morsail]

Originally Posted by sailnrock

Hi
Im trying to find out what year and model yanmar my friend has for Him, The enginge #by the motormount is 2S1429,, And under rocker cover # is 1215201-1300.
Thanks For any help

Hey,
I have no idea from those numbers. Did you look on the top of the motor there is a riveted plate that may be painted over? It was usually stamped with the motor type. Post some photos and maybe some others can identify the motor.