Tides Marine shaft seals

[Jim Wulff]

Has anyone experienced difficulty with Tides Marine shaft seals?

[Viper]

Welcome aboard.

How do you mean; with the company or the product? I've dealt with both countless times and have been pleased with the product and service. What are you having trouble with?

[Tbw5959]

We recently replaced vintage 2004 Tides Marine seals - housings on both shafts had cracked around the screw attachments, allowing torsion & leaks. Had the new seals and carriers installed, all good for 2 whopping days, completely dry -- and after really less than 2 days of running -- both seals now drip when underway.

I plan to call Tides and ask for advice.... anyone seen this? Thanks

[Viper]

A couple of things come to mind; if the shaft's surface is less than perfect where the lip seals sit, they'll leak. This surface needs to be properly prepped before the install. Any debris that might have squeezed between the shaft and seal will cause a leak. If the alignment is off, that can also cause dripping. And if the install tool (red seal protector) wasn't used when inserting the shaft into the seal, the seal may have gotten nicked by the shaft. If a spare seal was used and the cap removed from the assembly to insert the new seal, the cap screws need to be retightened in a crisscross pattern evenly to ensure equal pressure is applied all around.

Have you taken a real close look and confirmed the leak is coming from between the shaft and seal and not from elsewhere in the assembly?

[Tbw5959]

Hi Viper, Yep, it was pretty clear the drips were coming from around the seal area, not the blue hose coupler etc. The installers indeed used the red seal protector to slide on the seals and the spares.... but I didn't get a look at the shafts mid work to verify they had gotten them nice clear shiney smooth....

And - go figure! - ran the boat for a couple hours yesterday and -- no drips! I am wondering if we may have gotten some debris (sand/mud) up in the seal area that caused the drips, and now - the boat has sat enough since for that to get worked out. Here's hoping!..

[Viper]

Fingers crossed!

[womide]

QR_BBPOST Hi Viper, Yep, it was pretty clear the drips were coming from around the seal area, not the blue hose coupler etc. The installers indeed used the red seal protector to slide on the seals and the spares.... but I didn't get a look at the shafts mid work to verify they had gotten them nice clear shiney smooth....

And - go figure! - ran the boat for a couple hours yesterday and -- no drips! I am wondering if we may have gotten some debris (sand/mud) up in the seal area that caused the drips, and now - the boat has sat enough since for that to get worked out. Here's hoping!..

You are right.