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I have dripless shafts, not PSS, but can't remember the name. Went for the first ride of the season and everything went well till about 2200rpm then I heard a strange sound from the starboard side, not the engine, not the trans....but pretty sure it was the shaft area. I quickly throttled to neutral and the sound went away, slowly went to 1500rpm and it came back. Engine temp was fine, oil pressure was fine, etc. Idled back on 1 engine. I crawled into the bilge while coming back on 1 and the coupler was cool, but the shaft was warm. It cooled off and I only used the engine/gear to dock (with no noise or sounds, etc) and now I am wondering what to look for to make the repair? Is water being pumped to the shafts via the waterpump while at idle? Is this something I can check, adjust and fix dockside or do I need to be in the open water?

Where to start??

Thanks for the help. I'll be back at it in the AM.

--JK

I had the same (I think) noise years ago.. I was off shore & sprayed it with CX ... Really.
Later after I checked the water source was plugged ,Reamed it out, & was fine.
Check the water source. I now have smaLL BALLVALVES ON THE RAW WATER PUMP . Open halfway
Good luck
Wayne

JK, you most likley have Tides Strong Seals. These are lip seals and allthough their not fragile I would refraine from putting any petrolium products on them. Make sure your getting cooling water to the seal.

RussP

As Russ said you probably have strong seals. They use a plastic cutlass type bearing to keep the lip seal aligned to the shaft. If this is running dry, it is where your noise is comming from.

At the dock remove the hose from the engine cooling at the gland and run engine to check for flow. If none trace back to where the clog is.
If you have flow check the gland itself.

Somewhere (I think it was this forum) about a year ago I read someone who was redoing their boat was installing reinforced clear hose between their water pump and seals so they could see if there was water flowing.

I would be interested if anyone has done this.. wondering if you can really see flow if there is solid water and no bubbles, does the hose get dirty on the inside, etc, etc?

IRGuy wrote:wondering if you can really see flow if there is solid water and no bubbles, does the hose get dirty on the inside, etc, etc?

Frank,

You just jogged a memory nerve... You could put a flow indicator inline. Water cooled welding machines sometimes are so equiped.

Visual Water Flow Indicators

The only hold back on the model indicated here is that the body is made from brass, which would be a big time no-no in a marine application.

Another indicator, which doesn't contact the actual flow water & made of acrylic, is called a Pulsafeeder which is strapped onto & inline with t ... .jpg[/img]

There are other indicators available, these are just the two that first caught my eye... More Searches on Flow meters

Br,

Patrick

Captain Pat is right, you need the indicator. The hoses are clear on mine and you just can't tell if water is moving through them.

JK
Sorry to hijack.but
Now that we re talking drippless... During some recent deck work one of the nipples got broke off my seal. It was the plastic type... I had a ss nipple onhand & stopped the flo.
Im thinking that could be a more serious problem if the ss nipple were stressed & the co;;er cracked . Maybe switch bask to plastic nipple quick??
Wayne

Im thinking that could be a more serious problem if the ss nipple were stressed

Wayne,

I seem to remember that PYI/PSS will void any warantee if the plastic nipples are replaced with metal nipples. It could lead to cracking & failure of the composite body... Stick to plastic, (other than nylon, which will absorb water & swell up).

Br,

Patrick

I too have clear hoses and can't see a thing.

When I read the paper work for PSS id I remember correctly it said do not remove the plastic nipple. If it breaks I guess you do what you need to though.

Kevin wrote:When I read the paper work for PSS id I remember correctly it said do not remove the plastic nipple. If it breaks I guess you do what you need to though.

Just use an easyout to remove the stump & replace with a new plastic fitting...

Thanks .. Im doing that before I go out..
Wayne

ir guy that was my post on the pss seals. actually i used reinforced clear hose and open the hatch and look at it while my mate starts the engines you can see the water flow.at the end of the year i use the crash valves on the raw water intake to inject antifreeze with the raw water intake ball valves off you can see the antifreeze flow thru the clear hose as well as any bubbles that could indicate other problems.the pss hose feed is a very good troubleshooting aid because it is at the end of the waterflow throughout the engine.