Tides or PSS?

[Tree]

Hi Guys

Wonder if any of you good people can point me in the right direction to which shaft seal I have? I’m 95% confident it’s a Tides but doesn’t quite match up with the images online.

18 miles out to sea on Sunday the rear bilge alarm came on. On inspection I noticed about 10 gallons of water in the bilge - not something you want to see when you’re single handed!!

First I thought it was my rudder packing gland as that was wet, so tightened that and that is now bone dry. However, I’ve just got back from sea trials with a friend and we’ve found it to be the propeller shaft seal. Not a drop up to 2500 rpm but after that is trickling out pretty well.

I’ll try and upload the video - if not it’ll have to be a YouTube link. All I can mention at the moment it has a single pisser port and the gator is blue silicon.

If the video doesn’t upload - bear with me!!

Lee

Edit - managed to get a reasonable picture from the video.

[RobS]

That is the Tides Strong Seal since replaced with the SureSeal. See attached info sheet. I swapped out the Strong for the Sure when I owned my 28 because they had an upgrade program back then (2013) where you would get a 50% credit on the Sure if you returned the old Strong unit. Naturally, you could easily just change out the lip seal.

[Tree]

As ever - perfect, thank you Rob.

If I can just replace the lip seal for the moment, that will be the easiest option - I hope to do it with the engine in place. Otherwise it’s a replacement of the entire system for the sure seal and engine out. I’m due to pull the engine for a full check over - it’s not been out for six years and I do like to pull them every now and then to check those areas you can’t see normally - not while the bite is hot though!!

[Pitou]

I had the Strong Seal on my 28 and had issue with it before they came out with the SureSeal. I replaced it with the PSS. Though it's tight under the engine I did the R&R with the engine in. Removed the prop, dropped the shoe off of skeg, kicked the rudder to the side and slid the shaft back to remove the seal. It can be done without removing the engine, but you or your mechanic will be talking to yourself the whole way through.

Installing a spare lip seal makes good sense while everything is apart. On my 31TE I swapped out the original PSS in 2014 for the SureSeal and installed a replacement lip seal in a carrier as a future spare.

How ever you approach this it's a true PITA on the 28.

[RobS]

Before you pull anything apart mark the shaft so you are 100% sure where the current seal rides. When it's pulled apart carefully inspect the surface of the shaft as the slightest imperfection will be unkind to the lip seal (this is PSS's claim to fame that the shaft surface condition is a non-factor). You can adjust where on the shaft the seal rides by adjusting the boot length and where the boot sits on the log.

[Tree]

Before you pull anything apart mark the shaft so you are 100% sure where the current seal rides. When it's pulled apart carefully inspect the surface of the shaft as the slightest imperfection will be unkind to the lip seal (this is PSS's claim to fame that the shaft surface condition is a non-factor). You can adjust where on the shaft the seal rides by adjusting the boot length and where the boot sits on the log.

Roger that - i've around 1/4" of movement on the shaft so if the seal has worn a groove, which i expect it has I can always move the shaft back a touch.

Spoke with TidesMarine here this morning and I can still by a service kit for the current system - if i find later today that its going to be too difficult to replace insitu, I will have to pull the engine so an upgrade it will be. I can't get the same service exchange deal you did but they will give me a discount to change.

[jleonard]

Roger that - i've around 1/4" of movement on the shaft so if the seal has worn a groove, which i expect it has I can always move the shaft back a touch.

Don't move the shaft back, rather change the position of the seal by either lenghtening or shortening the hose.

[Tree]

Don't move the shaft back, rather change the position of the seal by either lenghtening or shortening the hose.

The propellor hub is quite close to the cutlass bearing already - the groove in the shaft assuming there will be one is going to be 1mm wide at most. I’m wouldn’t have thought that moving the shaft 3-4 mm would make any difference?

[Tree]

Boats out - seal if off.

I’ll pull the shaft in the morning to fully remove it - all going well, back in the water early next week.

[Tree]

Spoke too soon. Total of 6 hours to remove the coupling including two cut off bolts. I’m surprised it was so well stuck on since it was only replaced 6 years ago and covered in sprayed on grease. Can’t seem to pull the rudder over anywhere near enough to pull the shaft so tomorrow’s job is to drop the rudder and I will pull the shaft right out so I can put it up in a lathe and polish the whole length.

Being 6’4” doing jobs like this doesn’t suit me.