Leaking volvo stern gland: How worried should I be?

pvb said:
OK, that's an R&D coupling. You'll need to loosen the nuts which clamp the propshaft. You may need to twist a screwdriver in the slots to "encourage" the clamping surfaces to release slightly. There should be a key in the shaft, which you'll need to remove to slide a new seal over the shaft.

The new seal will come with a plastic insert, to protect the lip seals whilst the seal is slid over the shaft.
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My R and D couplings didn't look like that one..
 
laika said:
......... there's no clearance at the top of the shaft and only perhaps a millimetre at the bottom: Doesn't look to be enough to insert a straw....
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Are you saying you have a shaft misalignment and the shaft is forcing the nose of the seal upwards? If so, then this may be adding to the reasons for your seal leak and you should correct any missalignment before you fit a new seal.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
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Never Grumble said:
is that past both lips or just in far enough to grease the closest one. I have been greasing mine on a regular basis, so hopefully all OK.
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Good point. I mentioned excessive burping when I greased too far in, probably past all3 seals. Later greasing was aimed at the point between the 2 inner seals which are mainly water lubricated. I also put a bout 1ml just inside the outer seal every second or third year. My logic for that is that this isn't water lubricated and some grease will reduce wear on this final section.

I've never seen any detailed information on this and it would be useful to hear if there's a definitive answer.
 
laika said:
I came back to the boat after lockdown to find a mixture of diesel and water in the bilges. The source of the diesel is still under investigation but the water is from the 10-year-old volvo dripless stern gland, now dripping about 10ml per day. I was planning on moving the boat to the solent at the end of June to haul out but...is a leaking stern gland something that can result in sudden catastrophic failure (ie I should stump up the massive cost and inconvenience of hauling out where I am asap) or do these things tend to slowly progress?

Reading this forum makes me think this should be a straightforward DIY job. I'm unconfident with mechanics, generally restricting myself to basic engine servicing and am a little concerned about messing with the shaft coupling. Are those fears misplaced and as long as I don't touch the engine mounts I'm not going to end up with a misaligned shaft?
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Yes it is straight forward. I managed it and never looked back.
Replaced it with one of those Italian jobbies. Forgot the name.
 
Jamie Dundee said:
A little tube of Volvo stern gland grease costs around a fiver, although a little goes a long way. It is supposed to be done annually, along with ‘burping’ the stern gland if it’s been out of the water.
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Silicone grease and one of those funny milk shake straws from McDonald did the job until we put the Italian gland on
 
Folks, thanks again for your advice. This is the first boat I've owned and whilst I was familiar with the burping procedure, the lack of an obvious greasing point made me think the volvo seal was essentially maintenance free. Now I know better.

I turned the boat upside down looking for my stash of environmentally unfriendly straws but instead only found forgotten stashes of booze. However I did manage to shove the nozzle of the little volvo grease tube in, pump some grease, and rotate the shaft a couple of times. Bingo. drips have vastly reduced and I'll look at finding a straw tomorrow.

@Plum : yes the shaft doesn't look perfectly straight going into the seal: it's tighter at the top than the bottom. I suppose that's another thing to worry about...
 
laika said:
@Plum : yes the shaft doesn't look perfectly straight going into the seal: it's tighter at the top than the bottom. I suppose that's another thing to worry about...
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I had to replace two Volvo shaft seals in three years. One for the aforementioned folded lip and the second because the shaft was not central to the seal - or I assume that is what it was since having sorted it shaft seal number 3 is behaving properly.
 
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laika said:
Interestingly I've just been reading that these seals are supposed to be greased once a year. Despite the company that originally fitted it doing a fair bit of work ashore 2 years ago (incl. replacing cutlass bearing) they didn't mention the stern gland. I'm presuming this is something I should have been doing every time I've hauled out...



I will look but a whole load of cash may be preferable to that kind of stress...
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Did you 'burp' it after re-launching?

If not, the air bubble trapped around the lips might have caused premature wear of the primary sealing lip.

10ml per day is less than a conventional packed one might leak.

As previously advised, clean the end and shaft of salt crystals, gease ot and you should see the season out.

Vyv Cox's website shows the construction of a Volvo seal.

All mine, 3 in all, have been faultless.

If you do replace at some time, ASAP do the type with a vent pipe which does away with the burping - Orbitrade. The Volvo patent has long expired.
 
It can be done in the water, but it takes a sure hand and the confidence that comes from having done it before. I'd feed it a bit of grease, as mentioned above and get on with my sailing until it comes out of the water.

When you do come to do it, check the shaft carefully. Any damage from wear or crevice corrosion where the seal contacts it will destroy the new seal in pretty short order. I had some, so I had to fit a Deep Sea Seal, which has worked perfectly, but is significantly more expensive. The alternative was to fit a new shaft, or get an engineering shop to weld up the damage and grind it back to shape.
 
Stemar said:
Any damage from wear or crevice corrosion where the seal contacts it will destroy the new seal in pretty short order. I had some, so I had to fit a Deep Sea Seal, which has worked perfectly, but is significantly more expensive. The alternative was to fit a new shaft, or get an engineering shop to weld up the damage and grind it back to shape.
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A cheaper alternative could be to fit a spacer in the shaft coupling, so that the seal bears on a pristine bit of shaft.
 
KREW2 said:
ASAP do a spurious version of the radice marketed as Orbitrade. Here Search | ASAP Supplies
Get the one with a grease point and a water feed. You don't need to connect the water feed to a supply for a slow moving vessel. Just take a bit of hose up above the water line and burping will not be necessary when the boat is relaunched. As for doing it afloat I don't think that is possible
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I think you will find that Orbitrade made them for Volvo for many, many years. Volvo certainly never made them in house.

Once the patent expired Orbitrade changed and improved them by adding the grease port and on some sizes the vent tube fitting so as not to infringe copyright.

I have a 2inch/1.5 inch Orbitrade on our boat. It is perfect. If the Keel stepped mast did not leak I would have a totally dry bilge. :(

I know the Orbitrade does not leak as it is freshwater in the bilge sump.

The tube fitting is purely a vent tube to avoid burping. Feeding water under pressure is not required.
 
At some point the OP may reach his destination safely and enjoyably now.

And then decide to check the engine height on each mount for true shaft alignment ?

IE the drip may not be a fault in itself but rather just a handy symptomatic consequence saying it is time to disconnect the R and D coupling and verify / realign the engine and shaft
 
Mistroma said:
Good point. I mentioned excessive burping when I greased too far in, probably past all3 seals. Later greasing was aimed at the point between the 2 inner seals which are mainly water lubricated. I also put a bout 1ml just inside the outer seal every second or third year. My logic for that is that this isn't water lubricated and some grease will reduce wear on this final section.

I've never seen any detailed information on this and it would be useful to hear if there's a definitive answer.
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The Orbitrade greasing port puts the grease between the two seals.

Rear seal lubed by water, front by the grease.

If the rear seal is working as it should, its lip held tight to the shaft by water pressure, the front seal will be unlubed, hence the grease.
 
laika said:
Interestingly I've just been reading that these seals are supposed to be greased once a year. Despite the company that originally fitted it doing a fair bit of work ashore 2 years ago (incl. replacing cutlass bearing) they didn't mention the stern gland. I'm presuming this is something I should have been doing every time I've hauled out...
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They ‘should’ be greased annually. That being said, I was also unaware of that for the first two years. I now do mine religiously (using a straw) and have had no problem other than a minor leak a couple of years ago which was rectified by the application of even more grease. My Volvo stern gland is now 12 years old.
Rather than pay exorbitant lift out charges now, you could introduce a lot of grease into the gland (with a straw and making sure that you get the grease past the lip - about 3”in) and see how it runs. I try to squeeze the grease in at 12,3,6 and 9 o’clock (spacing not timing…) and then rotate the shaft by hand to distribute it. I’m sure that this will give you a bit more peace of mind for your trip. When mine was weeping, the volume did correlate to the shaft rpm so you might want to keep an eye on it under way and see what happens (i.e. take it up to your cruising speed before going too far from the Marina!!!)
The other lesson that I learned early on was to ‘burp’ the seal after launch to get the air out. As has been said above, these seals are substantial pieces of rubber and squeezing it does require a good grip.
Hopefully this will help with your move.

Oops. Once again, I should have read the whole thread before adding my tuppence worth!!! Doh
 
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dslittle said:
The other lesson that I learned early on was to ‘burp’ the seal after launch to get the air out. As has been said above, these seals are substantial pieces of rubber and squeezing it does require a good grip.
Hopefully this will help with your move.
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I fitted both my long keel Island Packets with Orbitrade Volvo type seals and our Gibsea before that. The Gibsea was easy to reach and squeezing by hand was possible.

Our previous Island Packet had no vent tube and was so inaccessible I used a gentle squeeze with a water pump plier. It required more pressure than I could manage by hand lying on my front, lungs evacuated, right arm at full extent. The 10 inch plier gave me reach and pressure to do the job. ?
 
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