Leaking shaft seal

[Sea Dooby]

I'm new here and to seadoo boats. I just bought a 95 sportster and one thing I noticed is that alot of water is coming in around the driveshaft where is goes through the hull. I've been doing some reading here and from what I've learned I think there is a carbon seal around the shaft that probbaly needs replacing. There is also a rubber tube which is hose clamped onto the shaft just inside of the hull opening.
I guess I'll have to take the pump off to replace that seal but is there any kind of temporary fix to keep the thing from leaking so much? I don't have much season left this year and I'd hate to lose any water time since I just got the boat. Over the winter I plan on going through it and fixing all that I can.
As I said, I'm a noob to Sea Doo boats and any and all advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Sea Dooby
I should have said I have a 95 sportster

 

[Guest_User]

I'm new here and to seadoo boats. I just bought a 95 sportster and one thing I noticed is that alot of water is coming in around the driveshaft where is goes through the hull. I've been doing some reading here and from what I've learned I think there is a carbon seal around the shaft that probbaly needs replacing. There is also a rubber tube which is hose clamped onto the shaft just inside of the hull opening.
I guess I'll have to take the pump off to replace that seal but is there any kind of temporary fix to keep the thing from leaking so much? I don't have much season left this year and I'd hate to lose any water time since I just got the boat. Over the winter I plan on going through it and fixing all that I can.
As I said, I'm a noob to Sea Doo boats and any and all advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Sea Dooby

welcome to the forum!
Not really advised to jury rig a quick fix. You`ll need to check the condition of the face of the carbon seal and floating ring and also the amount of tension. you may just need the replacement parts...
If you don`t have a shop service manual, it`s a good idea to get one or download one from the net...
Good luck with the new boat!

and old cheater trick is to loosen the rear clamp on the bellows to thru hull fitting, pull the bellows forward, install a zip tie around the thru hull fitting and slide the bellows back up against the zip tie, tighten the clamp...
This of course with a good surface on the carbon seal and floating ring... making sure the clip and everything is there...

 

[Dr Honda]

welcome to the forum!
Not really advised to jury rig a quick fix. You`ll need to check the condition of the face of the carbon seal and floating ring and also the amount of tension. you may just need the replacement parts...
If you don`t have a shop service manual, it`s a good idea to get one or download one from the net...
Good luck with the new boat!

and old cheater trick is to loosen the rear clamp on the bellows to thru hull fitting, pull the bellows forward, install a zip tie around the thru hull fitting and slide the bellows back up against the zip tie, tighten the clamp...
This of course with a good surface on the carbon seal and floating ring... making sure the clip and everything is there...

Actually........... on the 95... he DOES NOT have a carbon seal. (unless someone did a conversion)

The 95 and earlier boats/skis had a conventional seal pack. It's held onto the hull using a rubber tube. Clamped to the front is the seal pack. It has an inner and outer seal... and there is a roller bearing in between. There is also a grease fitting to keep that all working properly.


When that style seal has a failure... normally, the bearing rusts, and seizes to the shaft. Then... the engine rips the fitting out of the hull, and you have a nice 2" hole in the bottom of your boat... and you sink.

Because of that... there is no safe way to do a "Temporary Fix" on that style seal. Also... because you can potentially sink your boat... I would recommend NOT using it, until you get the seal fixed/rebuilt. This is also why Seadoo went to a carbon seal. They may leak, and cause cavitation... but it won't let your boat sink.

 

[Guest_User]

Actually........... on the 95... he DOES NOT have a carbon seal. (unless someone did a conversion)

The 95 and earlier boats/skis had a conventional seal pack. It's held onto the hull using a rubber tube. Clamped to the front is the seal pack. It has an inner and outer seal... and there is a roller bearing in between. There is also a grease fitting to keep that all working properly.




When that style seal has a failure... normally, the bearing rusts, and seizes to the shaft. Then... the engine rips the fitting out of the hull, and you have a nice 2" hole in the bottom of your boat... and you sink.

Because of that... there is no safe way to do a "Temporary Fix" on that style seal. Also... because you can potentially sink your boat... I would recommend NOT using it, until you get the seal fixed/rebuilt. This is also why Seadoo went to a carbon seal. They may leak, and cause cavitation... but it won't let your boat sink.

Thank you for the correction Doc!. hmmm, then he has a whole nother ball game right there...
I was never a big fan of the carbon seal. Yamaha has a great set up... I`ve known a few guys who went with the RAD seal on the doo`s and down they went...
Thanks again...

 

[Dr Honda]

I'm on the fence.

A seal pack is a great thing if you keep up with the maintenance... but a carbon seal will last a long time, with no maintenance... and it can't have a catastrophic failure. Like a seal pack.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

QUESTION - What is a RAD seal and what does Yamaha use?

 

[Guest_User]

QUESTION - What is a RAD seal and what does Yamaha use?

View attachment 14308

Yamaha uses a mid shaft and sealed bearing carrier mounted to the mid wall. no fuss no muss, engine alignment is so much easier dealing with a coupler...

 

[Dr Honda]

Kawi uses a similar seal... that the first 2 years of the seadoo's ('88~'89) they used a ridged seal also. They are good, but they are VERY expensive to replace.

Just an FYI... Polaris uses a seal like the '90-'95 seadoo's, where it's a seal on a hose.

 

[carl1269]

Tony, a little off point, but is there a aftermarket kit for the Sea-Doo - Rubber Boot
Item: 272000001 that has both Oetiker Clamps?

 

[Dr Honda]

Tony, a little off point, but is there a aftermarket kit for the Sea-Doo - Rubber Boot
Item: 272000001 that has both Oetiker Clamps?

First... please start your own post.

Second: What? I tried to read it 3 times, and it doesn't make sense. You ask "is there a aftermarket kit" but then ask about a part number, and a clamp. (not being harsh, just have no idea what the question is)


So... start your own post, and we will figure it out.

 

[Sea Dooby]

Actually........... on the 95... he DOES NOT have a carbon seal. (unless someone did a conversion)

The 95 and earlier boats/skis had a conventional seal pack. It's held onto the hull using a rubber tube. Clamped to the front is the seal pack. It has an inner and outer seal... and there is a roller bearing in between. There is also a grease fitting to keep that all working properly.


When that style seal has a failure... normally, the bearing rusts, and seizes to the shaft. Then... the engine rips the fitting out of the hull, and you have a nice 2" hole in the bottom of your boat... and you sink.

Because of that... there is no safe way to do a "Temporary Fix" on that style seal. Also... because you can potentially sink your boat... I would recommend NOT using it, until you get the seal fixed/rebuilt. This is also why Seadoo went to a carbon seal. They may leak, and cause cavitation... but it won't let your boat sink.

Thanks Dr. Honda I was wondering about that because in all the reading I've done here I noticed alot of mention of a stainless steel cup that the carbon seal fits into. But I never saw one on my boat. I also don't see a grease fitting. Is replaceing the seal pack a difficult job? I hate to lose anymore time on the water as I have little left this year.

 

[Sea Dooby]

OK So I went on the parts page and was looking at the online microfische of the driveshaft assembly, and from what I saw I think it is the thru-hull fitting were the leak is coming from. When the boat is in the water I can see water seeping in between the protective boot and the thru hull fitting

 

[Dr Honda]

OK So I went on the parts page and was looking at the online microfische of the driveshaft assembly, and from what I saw I think it is the thru-hull fitting were the leak is coming from. When the boat is in the water I can see water seeping in between the protective boot and the thru hull fitting

That means the seal pack is going bad... or it seized up before, and broke the fitting. Get a new replacement fitting, and put it in.

 

[carl1269]

Sorry... will do