Dripless Shaft Seal Maintenance Kit Install

[Tuloko77]

Ok... Since recently taking ownership of my 260 Mackinaw, I have been going through everything to get to know it, and I am now at the dripless shaft seal. It is a PSS shaft seal and likely hasn't been maintained in awhile. The manufacturer specifies that a maintenance kit be installed every six years so I will be doing that. With the Cummins engine, I have a 1 1/4" shaft, but I don't know the shaft log size, which is needed when ordering. I should've taken that measurement when I was at the boat this weekend, but... I won't be back to the boat for a few weeks. Does anyone happen to know this diameter?

Secondly... has anyone installed one of these? Can I quite simply unbolt the shaft from the transmission and slide it back just enough to install a new bellow, etc. I've never removed the shaft either so don't know how well it might slide back.

Not the greatest pics, but here's what I'm looking at... Thanks in advance

[holty]

I replaced the seal on the Lasdrop dripless my Mack had. The hardest part is pulling the flange off the shaft. It was truly a BITCH and took a number of days to accomplish using a flange puller. Tight quarters and bloody knuckles will have you reciting every curse word you know. Try to get a flange puller with fine threads. I would start letting some PB Blaster soak in now. On Tony's beer scale, this is a few six-packs job. Let us know how it goes.

regards Holty

[Tuloko77]

Oh boy, I can hardly wait. I was just thinking, I should've sprayed it before I left the boat and let it soak in for a few weeks! I'll start with that next time. About that flange- hopefully a stiff wire wheel brush will clean it up nicely and with a little Rustoleum, have it looking new again.

[Ship]

Just for the record, more than a few have said that cutting the flange off and buying a new one is worth the bucks.

[Tuloko77]

I'm not opposed to that. Think a sawzall would do the trick?

[Tuloko77]

And I'll have to determine if this is the right one, but the price is pretty good for the bloody knuckles I might avoid.
https://www.go2marine.com/Buck-Algon...xoC3ZwQAvD_BwE

[gary s]

No matter how old you are you will surprise yourself with the new swear words you'll learn. You will want to measure the coupler you have, there are 4" and 5" . Normally you heat it in an oven or bbq it is a press fit.you will do this once and next time it's needed you will buy a double taper shaft and coupler. They come apart just like a propeller comes off. Good luck.

[holty]

Definitely go with Ships advice and cut it off. Sawzall with a fine metal blade will do the trick. This will be 60 bucks well spent.

[Quik Fix]

I like a cut off wheel .

[Tuloko77]

It's going to be a few weeks at least until I get into this project but I'll report back. I appreciate the advice. I'll go armed with all cutting instruments I have and see where it takes me.

[Tuloko77]

Ok, so I got the coupler off with the Buck Algonquin tool. It was slow going but it worked as it should have. I thought the day was to be a success after this.... but it turns out that trying to reinstall the flange on the shaft is also a real pain in the ass... Neither the new flange I bought nor the old are willing to slide all the way on. And it takes a hell of a lot of work to get them to go at all. I'll try some white lithium grease tomorrow. Anyone have any tricks to get a flange back on there? Don't care if I use new or old at this point.

[My My Hey Hey]

Heat the flange in an oven. A toaster oven works good. You could also pack the shaft in some dry ice.

[Pequod]

Ok, so I got the coupler off with the Buck Algonquin tool. It was slow going but it worked as it should have. I thought the day was to be a success after this.... but it turns out that trying to reinstall the flange on the shaft is also a real pain in the ass... Neither the new flange I bought nor the old are willing to slide all the way on. And it takes a hell of a lot of work to get them to go at all. I'll try some white lithium grease tomorrow. Anyone have any tricks to get a flange back on there? Don't care if I use new or old at this point.

Had same issue last summer. Buck Algonquin tool works well, but with some effort.
I pulled the shaft, coupling and propeller and had them serviced by New England Propeller. Re-installed with zero surprises.
Removed and replaced Lasdrop drip less stuffing box and in stalled two spare lip seals.
Removed and replaced cutlass bearing..
IMO, to not service all components is short sighted.

[Tuloko77]

Got it done. I ended up using the old flange for a few reasons. One, it is more low profile and provides more clearance to the nipple on my raw water intake- which is where the hose to the shaft ties in. And two, it is in fine shape (a little patina) and I could reuse the set screws dimples on the shaft. As My My Hey Hey suggested, I used a toaster over to heat up the flange and iced the shaft for about 45 minutes each. I also lightly sanded/polished the inside of the flange along with the shaft with 400 grit. It did slide right on, but it lockup pretty quickly so I needed to move fast and fortunately had it lined up well. I slid the flange on without the key in place and figured with 5-6" of room between the shaft and transmission, I could slide the "key pin" in. Again, I iced the pin, sanded it, and had just enough room to tap it in there with a heavy hammer turned sideways. Put the boat in later in the afternoon and all looked and ran well.... no leaks.

[Quik Fix]

Love it when everything comes together.