Grooves worn in driveshaft

[JASinIL2006]

Hi all, I am changing my impeller and water pump, and after I split the drive and cleaned up everything, I noticed that there is some wear on my driveshaft just below the splines (see pic below). I can feel the grooves when I run my fingernail over them. I do not believe it was there the last time I had the drive open, a couple years ago. Last year, when I changed the gear, lube, the drive held pressure overnight.

Any ideas what might be causing the wear? I have the drive apart now because I am going to replace the water pump, so I’d like to take care of it while everything is apart.

Thanks!

 

[Scott06]

Thats where the seal rides in the upper, seal and dirt in it will cut a groove over time . Thats doesnt look too bad Would probably dress it up with an emery cloth and put it back in. For deep grooves you can put a speedi sleeve over it. some prop shops will repair these by spray welding the grove back up and machining it down.

something you can drive the seal deeper by like .030” and ride on a differnt portion of the shaft that is unmolested. Common to do this with the inout shaft yoke

of course check the seal condition while its apart easy to replace those .

 

[dubs283]

you can drive the seal deeper by like .030” and ride on a differnt portion of the shaft that is unmolested.......
........ easy to replace those .

There's not much room, if any at all for those seals to be set in a different location. Use the install tool and they seat in place against the shouldered area in the housing

MC-1, R/MR/Alpha 1 is easy to replace the lower seal. Upper seal requires removal of the driveshaft meaning disassembly of the driveshaft housing components. Gen 2 the driveshaft and bearing cup must be removed to replace both seals

 

[JASinIL2006]

Some more questions...

Is this something that needs to be corrected before using the boat this season? How would I evaluate whether the seals are bad enough that immediate replacement is needed?

In looking at the service manual for the Gen 2 (#14, section 3A), it looks like changing the seals is a rather involved task with some special tools... is this a DIY job?

 

[Scott06]

Some more questions...

Is this something that needs to be corrected before using the boat this season? How would I evaluate whether the seals are bad enough that immediate replacement is needed?

In looking at the service manual for the Gen 2 (#14, section 3A), it looks like changing the seals is a rather involved task with some special tools... is this a DIY job?

Pressure test and rotate the driveshaft. If it passes I think you would be ok this year.

What do the seals look like- torn dry and brittle?

I think to do the seals on the upper you only big nut wrench to get the driveshaft out and a rolling torque wrench to do. Lower may be more involved.

Your boat is a 97? Has it ever been done? if not would plan on it maybe after this year unless it fails pressure test.

 

[ROY WILLIAMS]

Hi all, I am changing my impeller and water pump, and after I split the drive and cleaned up everything, I noticed that there is some wear on my driveshaft just below the splines (see pic below). I can feel the grooves when I run my fingernail over them. I do not believe it was there the last time I had the drive open, a couple years ago. Last year, when I changed the gear, lube, the drive held pressure overnight.

Any ideas what might be causing the wear? I have the drive apart now because I am going to replace the water pump, so I’d like to take care of it while everything is apart.

Thanks!

View attachment 377876

I was doing my impeller the engine was hot then the worn impeller ..
I was the outdrive ... the air pressure 7-10 psi .... every year ..
so the drive shaft is a worn picture ... inspected it the air pressure

 

[JASinIL2006]

I don’t know if these pics help at all, but this is what the upper seals look like.

 

[ROY WILLIAMS]

I don’t know if these pics help at all, but this is what the upper seals look like.

View attachment 377967View attachment 377968View attachment 377969

that picture is very good no corrosion .....
inspect that seal ...

 

[Scott06]

Hard to see in those photos but they dont look damaged . If they all look like the last photo and holds pressure i wouldnt hesitate to use it

 

[JASinIL2006]

Ok, so I dressed the driveshaft with some emery cloth, installed a new water pump (the entire kit, including a new pump housing and the yellow seal carrier that sits below the pump). I reassembled everything per the manual.

My drive is not holding pressure. I can put it at 9-10 psi and after five minutes it has lost at least 2 psi. Before I tear it down to make sure the quad ring didnt get dislodged when I assembled the drive, where all should I be checking with a soapy water solution to look for bubbles? I have checked my testing rig, and the connection between it and the outdrive, as well as the gear lube drain hole. No bubbles. I have also checked the seal around the cap on the top of the drive, and no bubbles there either. Where all should I be checking for leaking air?

Thanks, as always for your help…

 

[dubs283]

Input shaft yoke seal, lower driveshaft seal where it mates with the driveshaft housing, shift shaft bushing/seal, propshaft seal

Need to turn the input shaft and shift the drive to properly pressure test

 

[Grub54891]

Shift shaft is pretty common. Easy to replace also. Hope it’s just that.

 

[Scott06]

Would also add the fill and drain screws, seals on those dont always get changed

not sure if you have to take the water pump off to get driveshaft seal checked in the lower

 

[JASinIL2006]

Just wanted to follow up with some resolution to my problem with the drive not holding pressure.

After getting distracted with several other projects, I got back to the outdrive. I split the drive again and I noticed there was some crud that seemed to be interfering with the quad ring sealing correctly. Everything else looked fine. I cleaned the quad ring and both mating surfaces, and reassembled the drive. This time, it held pressure, even after turning the driveshaft and propshaft. I am assuming the it's OK but I'll be checking pressure carefully next year when I change the gear lube just to be sure.

Thanks to all for the help!

Jim

 

[nola mike]

Just wanted to follow up with some resolution to my problem with the drive not holding pressure.

After getting distracted with several other projects, I got back to the outdrive. I split the drive again and I noticed there was some crud that seemed to be interfering with the quad ring sealing correctly. Everything else looked fine. I cleaned the quad ring and both mating surfaces, and reassembled the drive. This time, it held pressure, even after turning the driveshaft and propshaft. I am assuming the it's OK but I'll be checking pressure carefully next year when I change the gear lube just to be sure.

Thanks to all for the help!

Jim

Thanks for the update!