Offrddrver
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2009
- Messages
- 95
BruceB, Pantz,
Just my thoughts here, I'm not trying to argue, just bringing up seals purpose.....
1. If no seal was in place at all, then your grease will get from your gimble bearing into the bilge area.......over time and depending how often you grease your gimble bearing.
2. If no seal was in place and the u-joint bellows fails.....you get a rush of water in, instead of no water, or a trickle rate. (Same idea as the first seal on the drive side; without it water would have free entry into the top end of the out drive if the u-joint bellows got a hole in it.)
3. I agree with BruceB it also keeps dirt/debris from entering from the bilge area into the drive shaft and gimble area.
I agree this is not a show stopper, but I kindly disagree that it is only a dirt seal.
Sorry to repeat, but in my case a good seal with a good motor to gimble alignment has greatly reduced the amount of water I'm getting into the bilge now that my u-joint bellows has a hole in it (before I patched the bellows). As noted earlier, my heavily damaged gimble seal (when I bought my boat) let in a lot of water into the bilge when my bellows got a hole in it.
Here is why I bring it up that Pantz may want to replace it with the gimble bearing that is soon to arrive.
If he doesn't replace it now, the repair manual notes that pulling the gimble bearing (and seal) damage them and they must be replaced.
It is a $12.18 part that may help, but if not replaced now, then he would have to replace a $40 to $85.00 gimble bearing now, and then replace another gimble bearing and seal again later if he chooses the seal is something he wants in place.
If you, Pantz, do or don't replace it, then I agree with Bruce it is NOT a show stopper.
As with me now (with the patched hole in my u-joint bellows), we have to gamble on how long we take to repair the known bad parts. In my case I'm waiting until ~October as I know I only have a few boating runs between now and then, and I also know from the past that the parts are already rusted so my work doesn't change now or later, nor does my cost of repair now or later.
As always, your call brother.
Offrddrver
Just my thoughts here, I'm not trying to argue, just bringing up seals purpose.....
1. If no seal was in place at all, then your grease will get from your gimble bearing into the bilge area.......over time and depending how often you grease your gimble bearing.
2. If no seal was in place and the u-joint bellows fails.....you get a rush of water in, instead of no water, or a trickle rate. (Same idea as the first seal on the drive side; without it water would have free entry into the top end of the out drive if the u-joint bellows got a hole in it.)
3. I agree with BruceB it also keeps dirt/debris from entering from the bilge area into the drive shaft and gimble area.
I agree this is not a show stopper, but I kindly disagree that it is only a dirt seal.
Sorry to repeat, but in my case a good seal with a good motor to gimble alignment has greatly reduced the amount of water I'm getting into the bilge now that my u-joint bellows has a hole in it (before I patched the bellows). As noted earlier, my heavily damaged gimble seal (when I bought my boat) let in a lot of water into the bilge when my bellows got a hole in it.
Here is why I bring it up that Pantz may want to replace it with the gimble bearing that is soon to arrive.
If he doesn't replace it now, the repair manual notes that pulling the gimble bearing (and seal) damage them and they must be replaced.
It is a $12.18 part that may help, but if not replaced now, then he would have to replace a $40 to $85.00 gimble bearing now, and then replace another gimble bearing and seal again later if he chooses the seal is something he wants in place.
If you, Pantz, do or don't replace it, then I agree with Bruce it is NOT a show stopper.
As with me now (with the patched hole in my u-joint bellows), we have to gamble on how long we take to repair the known bad parts. In my case I'm waiting until ~October as I know I only have a few boating runs between now and then, and I also know from the past that the parts are already rusted so my work doesn't change now or later, nor does my cost of repair now or later.
As always, your call brother.
Offrddrver
but it's been damaged and rubber did come off (o-ring), now maybe that's residual to the bearing, maybe it's the seal, maybe there is not supposed to be an o-ring in there at all and the P.O. or helper tossed one in there to "stem" a leaking issue not wanting to replace the gimbal and seal.
