Possible Shaft Oil feeder

Refueler

Refueler

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Yanmar 2GM20 to shaft .... unfortunately - to see the shaft would be a contortionists nightmare and I value my health !!

dApSjBpl.jpg


I have two 'plastic' reservoirs fitted above engine to companionway bulkhead ... larger looks like a pressure expansion for calorofier - removed by previous owner - but piping still in place (valves closed of course).
The smaller bottle bottom left - we believe is the oil feed to the shaft seal ...

85jSNIdl.jpg


I do not have information as to what seal is fitted and therefore its pot luck on what oil to use in the system. As can be seen its low and actually its been like that since buying the boat - only moved a few mm maybe a cm.

Online I read that ATF .. Low Visc Oil ... Engine Oil .... EAl - are possibilities ..........

Because I was checking the engine oil - I had the 5W 40 at hand and decided - give the feeder a top up ... it appears that the oil that was in bottom of the feeder was likely ATF as it has stayed separate to the darker engine oil.

I have a boat trip spanning ~ 4 days and engine will be run for short times ... berthing / unberthing ... probably about 6hrs in total ... therefore given the miniscule amount the feeder moves - the ATF will still be at bottom of bottle.

Deciding whether worth syphoning out the 5W40 after the trip and refilling with ATF .. or just leave it .. assuming it is ATF .. not just light machine oil...
 
I cannot see any value in using ATF in this application. High level boundary lubricant seems totally unnecessary in what is presumably a pair of lip seals on a bronze or steel shaft. Usual recommendation is engine oil.
 
Refueler said:
Yanmar 2GM20 to shaft .... unfortunately - to see the shaft would be a contortionists nightmare and I value my health !!

dApSjBpl.jpg


I have two 'plastic' reservoirs fitted above engine to companionway bulkhead ... larger looks like a pressure expansion for calorofier - removed by previous owner - but piping still in place (valves closed of course).
The smaller bottle bottom left - we believe is the oil feed to the shaft seal ...

85jSNIdl.jpg


I do not have information as to what seal is fitted and therefore its pot luck on what oil to use in the system. As can be seen its low and actually its been like that since buying the boat - only moved a few mm maybe a cm.

Online I read that ATF .. Low Visc Oil ... Engine Oil .... EAl - are possibilities ..........

Because I was checking the engine oil - I had the 5W 40 at hand and decided - give the feeder a top up ... it appears that the oil that was in bottom of the feeder was likely ATF as it has stayed separate to the darker engine oil.

I have a boat trip spanning ~ 4 days and engine will be run for short times ... berthing / unberthing ... probably about 6hrs in total ... therefore given the miniscule amount the feeder moves - the ATF will still be at bottom of bottle.

Deciding whether worth syphoning out the 5W40 after the trip and refilling with ATF .. or just leave it .. assuming it is ATF .. not just light machine oil...
Click to expand...
Is there a breather hole in the cap of the container?
 
When I had such a seal on several boats I used to use gear oil, the reason being that the seals are usually in a bronze tubular housing with limited clearance to the rotating shaft.

The oil has 2 functions - lubricate the sea lip and to provide pressure against water inflow ie approx same pressure both sides of the lip seal. I am sure than engine oil will do.
 
This looks similar to the set up I have on my boat. The type of shaft seal I have is a Lip-type seal which is oil lubricated and the small plastic bottle with the small plastic pipe at the base of the bottle running to the lip seal on the prop shaft. The lubrication is basically gravity fed and the bottle just needs regular checking to ensure that there is oil in the bottle - if it is empty you have a problem as the oil will be leaking from the seal. I've had my boat for 18 years with this system and other than once in a blue moon doing very minor topping up with gearbox oil (I was told this by a Yanmar engineer) I haven't had to do anything. My Yanmar engineer said it was very reliable system and that view is backed up by Nigel Calder in his Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual when he says (p551) '....these [oil lubricated] seals require a minimal level of operator attention and maintenance'. Nigel Calder also says the main reason for failure of these type of seals is improper installation normally because the lip of the seal is facing the wrong way. Therefore if the oil is staying in the plastic bottle it is an indicator that all is well.
 
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