Volvo shaft seal ..odd ?

[Appleyard]

I replaced the old seal ,it was leaking a bit,so used a new one from Keyparts. Not a volvo original part, but one made by Orbitrade Marine ..proper size etc and apparently recommended as alternative part for the job. It was a but cheaper than the Volvo,so I thought I would give it a try.

Easy to fit,plenty of grease as supplied..so far so good..but I was of course keeping an eye on it,and find that I have to burp it every day before heading out. There is a skoosh of air and then water as expected.

Surely it should only need burped once.the old one did.Any Ideas?

 

[TonyBuckley]

Do you dry out?

 

[Cloven]

I have an original Volvo seal fitted and it does not leak. However, if the boat has not been used for some time, I always "burp" it and there is always a little air expelled and that's with the boat afloat.

 

[Pete7]

If you are getting a "whoosh" when doing this then you have an air tight seal which is good and means the air must be bubbles entering from the stern tube. Perhaps the old seal was water tight, but just not air tight. Just changed ours after 5 years, couldn't beleive how tight the new one from VP was. The old seal when new was a good push fit, the new one required the stern tube to be ground down before it would fit. Same part number and bought from the same VP dealer.

Pete

 

[Appleyard]

If you are getting a "whoosh" when doing this then you have an air tight seal which is good and means the air must be bubbles entering from the stern tube. Perhaps the old seal was water tight, but just not air tight. Just changed ours after 5 years, couldn't beleive how tight the new one from VP was. The old seal when new was a good push fit, the new one required the stern tube to be ground down before it would fit. Same part number and bought from the same VP dealer.


Pete

Hi Pete, I reckon youhave cracked it. The old seal,obviously worn would be self burping.
Many thanks.

 

[HunterWanderer]

Air doesn't see to be a problem with these seals. Just make sure the grease is applied every year and they last forever.

Its only a problem if you have a very long prop shaft tube with the seal at the top and no chance of water getting to the seal. If the tube is short, when the shaft turns some water gets to the seal and it wont overheat. The grease also helps to stop overheating.

 

[Appleyard]

It has been working perfectly well for the past 10 years. It only started to do this as soon as I fitted the new seal. But...all is now well.