prop shaft drip

[fairtide]

I noticed a slight liquid drip from the shaft on my 2006 28TE that is still on the hard. This boat has the Tides dripless shaftlog, so I did not expect fluid at the shaft itself. There was no noted color of the liquid but it had a slight lubricative feel. This was probably the non-toxic antifreeze (pink stuff) that I used for winterizing.
My question is whether I should have any liquid dripping from where I mentioned. This is not an active drip, and it only started when the prop was spun by hand. The prop turned easily. The boat is still shrink wrapped, so this could not be rain that drained into the bilge.
Any thoughts?

[Pitou]

It sounds like you did a good job winterizing!

The way your dripless Tides shaft seal works is that it has a sea water pickup tube most likely comimg from the sea water side of your transmission cooler / this is where Albin often tied in for shaft cooling. The sea water enters the Tides shaft seal and cools the drive shaft / bearing in the stern tube and the sea water exits through a hole in the stern tube which is located on the starboard side .... right where you are seeing last falls decommissioning antifreeze dripping from. Nice to know a leak is not a leak.

The thing to be aware of is that if Albin grabbed a port from the transmission cooler ... they often took the anode out to steal sea water from the cooler for the shaft seal. Keep an eye on your transmission fluid to be sure it has not been compromised from corrossion, which at some point will occur if this is the case with your cooler. ...... another preventative PM project is to replace that cooler at some point.

[RobS]

Kevin is right on regarding the drip source.

I started my boat on the hard a few weeks ago with a garden hose in the perko strainer and the person on the ground starting yelling to shut her down that I must have blew a hose as water was coming out of the bottom of the boat. It was just the water injection to the shaft seal running out of the cutlass bearing.

If you have the Yanmar the cooling water take-off point is most likely from a tee fitting installed between the heat exchanger and mixing elbow, not from the tranny cooler. Most yanmars were equipped with tranny coolers that had no zinc fitting so that was not an option as a connection point.

Here is the fitting: http://www.tidesmarine.com/fittings-t-fittings.shtml

Here is a picture of where it is located on my engine box model. This pic was taken during Rydlyme flush so some hoses are moved around..

[fairtide]

Pitou and RobS: Thanks for the expert info re the drip from the shaft. It is good to know that there are owners such as you who know what makes our boats run right. I will check to see where the raw water comes from that flows thru the shaft seal. I will snug up hose clamps before launch time.

[Pitou]

Thanks for jumping in on this Rob. The wheels are turning after going to the Tides Marine link for that T-fitting. I sure would like to put an anode in the tranny cooler as designed and pick the seawater up elsewhere for the cutlass bearing. I could do exactly as the Yanmar set-up, placing the "T" in between the heat exchanger and mixing elbow. Being a production boat, I guess it was cheaper for Albin to scab from the available port on my cooler than to use the "T".

I've been on this one since last summer when I met an Albin 28TE owner in Boothbay, Maine during our summer cruise. He had a Penninsular that had the same arrangement as my Cummins set-up and seawater eventually corroded his tranny cooler and seawater mixed with his tranny fluid. He was fortunate his tranny was not damaged and that things were caught early. He replaced his tranny cooler with one that had an extra port for his shaft seal while retaining a port for the anode.

How a thread can turn ... thanks for posting !

[RobS]

If the cooler is rubber mounted and it's only "connections" being 4 rubber hoses (2 seawater and 2 hydraulic) will the zinc serve a purpose? My cooler is mounted via two metal bands that are rubber lined..

[Pitou]

If the cooler is rubber mounted and it's only "connections" being 4 rubber hoses (2 seawater and 2 hydraulic) will the zinc serve a purpose? My cooler is mounted via two metal bands that are rubber lined..

The 4 hoses all have metal/brass maybe bronze threaded connectors attached that screw into the cooler. With dissimilar metals (hose connections & cooler) isn’t an anode designed to provide protection?
Not sure if the metal bands are rubber lined or not.

[RobS]

Understood. My point was that it's not metallically connected to the electrical currents of the boat. It is, however, connected in some capacity via seawater that lays in the cooling loop. Here's a shot showing my rubber lined bands.

[Pitou]

My set-up looks similar, though I cannot remember the rubber lined bands. If that is the case ... I certainly have more comfort. Thanks for the clearer understanding.

Only being minimally connected through the seawater loop is exactly that, but he11 if I can add an anode ....

[RobS]

... but he11 if I can add an anode ....

Absolutely, there is certainly some galvanic/corrosive activity that would be combated.