Leaking Shaft Seal, SX Drive

[Hooked on Deanna]

It turns out my leaking shaft seal was allowing water into my lower unit. It cost $400 to repair and the mechanic said I may need to replace the lower unit in a season or two - said that corrosion on the shaft and gear will eventually fail and I'm licky its a volvo/beefy else it would need to be replaced now. He also said the upper gears were not getting lube because the level was low - I checked the level before the repair and it was low but I did get oil on a pin that was about a half inch longer than the dip stick. The oil on the pin I used was clean and the oil leaking out of the shaft seal was clean.

Any comments...

 

[Don S]

Re: Leaking Shaft Seal, SX Drive

Without seeing what you have, the only thing I can say is it still leaks.

 

[Hooked on Deanna]

Re: Leaking Shaft Seal, SX Drive

No leaks and drive was vacuum tested...The three spoke hub at the end of the shaft is new. I wanting to know what is typical damage from water in case? When I put it up for the winter (should have checked gear lube - bad decision) both drives were working good. What is the typical tell tale that my drive may be failing? Thanks for your reply...

 

[Don S]

Re: Leaking Shaft Seal, SX Drive

There is no "Typical" failure. If you have a leak, you fix it. A pressure test of the drive (with the gear lube drained) tells more than a vacuum check.