How to: compress the 'hose' on my PSS seal?

pcatterall

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My new seal has arrived ready for me to take out to Sardinia in December.
The hose has to be compressed about 1" and held compressed while I tighten up the SS part of the seal.
even on the bench it takes quit a bit of force to compress it and holding it compressed would b quite a task.
Has any done this and come up with a solution ( and if so can they pass it on!!)
Thanks
 
cut a bit of wood that will jam between the gearbox or a suitable strong point and end of the seal the right length to compress it
 
My new seal has arrived ready for me to take out to Sardinia in December.
The hose has to be compressed about 1" and held compressed while I tighten up the SS part of the seal.
even on the bench it takes quit a bit of force to compress it and holding it compressed would b quite a task.
Has any done this and come up with a solution ( and if so can they pass it on!!)
Thanks

Fitted one recently but also fitted a ss heavy duty jubilee clip to the shaft first in front of the PSS seal so when I compressed the PPS seal I then locked it in position first with the jubilee clip before tightening the the PSS seal lock screws, the jubilee clip also acts as a safety back up!

Hope this might help

Mike
 
My new seal has arrived ready for me to take out to Sardinia in December.
The hose has to be compressed about 1" and held compressed while I tighten up the SS part of the seal.
even on the bench it takes quit a bit of force to compress it and holding it compressed would b quite a task.
Has any done this and come up with a solution ( and if so can they pass it on!!)
Thanks

By chance I had just come across this video on fitting a PSS seal. perhaps it will help you but note it does suggest you should read the instructions!

There does not seem to be any problem compressing the bellows as the unit is fitted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UvyF-NRooQ

There are other videos out there too which entering "PSS seal" in the you tube search box will find.
 
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It is difficult on ones own. On my boat there is not a big gap between the ring on the shaft and the coupling I levered it with the wooden shaft of a hammer and did the screws up. getting an accurate distance at the same time was tricky but seems to have worked OK. An accurately sized bit of wood seems like a good plan.
 
I used an extended nut used for 'unistrut' metal work on a piece of threaded stud bar cut to length to just fit within the uncompressed gap. Hold the threaded bar with mole grips whilst you unwind the extended nut the appropriate distance. If you need more than a nut length then move part way, hold in place with a jubilee clip, then add some packing or a second nut the opposite end of the stud bar.
 
When I replaced my engine 3 years ago, I also replaced the PSS bellows. The old one was easy to compress the specified 1", as shown on the installation website. The new one was impossible, the convolutions of the bellows were solid before that compression was reached and the rubber was thicker.
I queried this with my supplier, Silette Sonic who referred me to Aquafax, the main agent I believe. They both acknowledged that the newer bellows were different from previously, but couldn't specify a suitable compression.
I eventually decided on ~3/4", just less the max. I could achieve. For this, I had to make up a clamp and lever system, even though I've got reasonable access to the shaft.
Thankfully, the seal has not given any trouble since installation.
 
By chance I had just come across this video on fitting a PSS seal. perhaps it will help you but note it does suggest you should read the instructions!

There does not seem to be any problem compressing the bellows as the unit is fitted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UvyF-NRooQ

There are other videos out there too which entering "PSS seal" in the you tube search box will find.

Thanks all. This is a video that I have seen plus several others plus reading the instructions. Quite possibly my bellows are like early birds below I recall there is a load mentioned in the instructions I will see how that relates to compression achieved on my bellows.
Some sort of levers seem to be the favourite way ahead although my shaft is about 6 feet long, possibly I can clamp something on the shaft to shorten this.
Thanks again
 
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