New prop seal leaking already

[Colsanders1955]

I have recently acquired a 1988 Chaparral 2350SX with a 5.7L Mercruiser I/O. Having been an old mechanic (on cars and light trucks) I have worked over everything on the motor from rebuilding the carb, dist, new plugs, filters, oil, etc. Having never worked on a Mercruiser lower unit, I opted to have a local shop and good friend replace the impeller and the prop shaft seals while they were at it. The local Merc parts dealer is Bass Pro Shops and they sold me two pair of seals claiming it could be one pair or the other and to return the two I didn't use. To my chagrin, the seal behind the prop began to drip oil immediately afterward. I'm thinking the shop may have put in the wrong pair(?). Also, the boat doesn't seem to shift into gear as smooth as before - kind of like an old transmission in need of syncronizers. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[bilge rat jim]

What are the part #s of the seals that BPS sold you? And, what drive model is this?

 

[Colsanders1955]

I'll have to find my receipt. Thanks for the early morning reply, BRJ - and thank you for your service!

 

[alldodge]

I have recently acquired a 1988 Chaparral 2350SX with a 5.7L Mercruiser I/O. Having been an old mechanic (on cars and light trucks) I have worked over everything on the motor from rebuilding the carb, dist, new plugs, filters, oil, etc. Having never worked on a Mercruiser lower unit, I opted to have a local shop and good friend replace the impeller and the prop shaft seals while they were at it. The local Merc parts dealer is Bass Pro Shops and they sold me two pair of seals claiming it could be one pair or the other and to return the two I didn't use. To my chagrin, the seal behind the prop began to drip oil immediately afterward. I'm thinking the shop may have put in the wrong pair(?). Also, the boat doesn't seem to shift into gear as smooth as before - kind of like an old transmission in need of syncronizers. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

:welcome: to iboats

I take it you have a alpha drive since you mention replacing the impeller. The prop shaft should have two seals installed on the prop shaft.
Inner seal is 26-76868 and lip faces inward toward needle bearings. Outer seal is 26-12224 and has an out edge used to cut fish line if it gets wrapped around the shaft (called fish line cutter)

If your having trouble getting it out of gear the shift cable needs to be adjusted or replaced. Would need replaced if adjustment doesn't fix the issue.