Gents, I need a spare set of hands to hold a spanner on the pulley bolt on the front of my engine while I undo the gearbox flange nut to get at the gearbox seal.
Is anybody around Salt Pan Cove Pittwater on Friday? Maybe an hour to get it apart? Fit the new seal and retighten.

I also some time fit a flat bladed screw driver into the ring gear teeth if you organize it it will lock in place on my boat any way. I rotate the fly wheel till the screw driver is locked it . It may not work in your boat .
Zilla is on the money

^^ + 1

It's usually best to hold the part you are undoing, holding the nose bolt in the crank you may undo it first and sometimes the energy to undo is lost though out the motor.
Is it possible to put a bolt back in the flange and put a spanner on that bolt and position your spanner so that it rests under the socket in the center. Jam it against the floor. Use blocks of wood and a pipe extension to position it, or you might just be able to hold it.That spanner will oppose the force you are using to undo it.

If I was close by...it would have been a pleasure

Thank you all. Michael and I have been on the phone and plan to team up at 1300 to do the job. All are welcome to come over and raft up. It could be that I can watch you guys fix it for me.

cisco said...

You better have some coldies in that huge fridge of yours.

Mate, you're alive. Hadn't heard from you for awhile, thought you might have gone to ground or been banished to Second Wind by the missus.

With MichaelR's superb help I replaced the output shaft seal on the gearbox and fixed that oil leak. It was an important leak to fix as the gearbox doesn't hold much oil and with constant motoring it would have run out pretty quickly.

Unfortunately once that one was done after a test drive we found there is another oil leak, this time it looks like the rear crankshaft seal. I overfilled the engine a little bit at the last service, with the engine angle in the boat it should only be filled to half way between the dip stick top and bottom marks and it is about 3/4 of the way up. That might exacerbate the leak at present.

It is a pretty big job to replace that one. I replaced it when I bought the boat and had the engine at home for a rebuild. Probably a 10 hour job in the boat but at least with a centre mounted engine you can get at the bell housing to get it off. One for a mechanic if I bother doing it.

The sump holds 4.5 litres so it will take a long time for that leak to cause a major issue. It is easier to top up the oil, put a disposable nappy in the bilge and clean it out than replace the seal. When the gearbox needs an overhaul I'll do it.

Has anybody any experience of those oil additives that act on rubber seals to reduce/stop leaks?

LooseChange said...

MorningBird said..

Has anybody any experience of those oil additives that act on rubber seals to reduce/stop leaks?

I believe "Snake Oil" is the term you are looking for. They will do a very temporary job and after that leave you with a bigger leak than you started with.
Do it once, do it right.

That is my understanding but I thought they might be better now. It isn't practical fixing the leak yet. It is an annoyance more than anything and doesn't affect the boat's seaworthiness.

I did it right 11 years ago. When I do it this time I'll do it that way again.

If it gets bad enough I'll consider that option Ramona. I'm all for keeping it simple and a bit of an oil leak that doesn't affect seaworthiness is a minor problem. A few sheets of paper towel cleans it up.

I was thinking about it again last night and I'm not sure it is from the engine. It could also be the gearbox input shaft seal. I topped the box up after Michael and I changed the rear seal so I'll know when I get back up to MB, if there is clean oil in the bilge it is coming from the box and it will be from the input shaft seal or maybe the gear change mechanism. As the engine angles down the rear seal is the lowest point so the oil level gets down a long way. The other potential leaks are higher up so will retain a higher oil level.

In the meantime I can use MB, if I find the time between looking at houses. We are homeless in 3 1/2 weeks.

A bit more research and I am pretty sure the leak is from the gear change shaft. I am told it is just a couple of O rings, but I have been told I need to be careful not to drop the piece inside on the shaft which will fall into the gearbox if it does come off. Anybody have any experience with gearbox gear change shaft removal?

The house move is next week. A bit sad to be leaving our home of 22.5 years but not sad to be leaving Chatswood. Asian neighbours are good neighbours, but if we wanted to live in Hong Kong we would have moved there.

Still haven't found the next house so will be renting a friends 2 bed apartment in Summer Hill while we keep looking. I will apply for a mooring in Five Dock Bay this week.

Two O rings I have been told. I was thinking of removing the lever and taking the side plate off leaving the shaft in place.
Alternatively, I could buy a pack of disposable nappies and soak up the small amount of oil that escapes!

h28kurt said...
I guess it depends on how bad the leak is, if you can capture the leaking oil and keep it toped up you can postpone it.

aluminum roast tray's are great for drips too

another idea you could heel the boat over a little on the side the seal is so gravity is on your side the oil will want to flow out of shift lever minimizing the chance of it falling in
get a syringe filled with gearbox oil, lube the outside and carefully remove the shaft/leaver while keeping it lubed up

generally those o rings go hard and shrink they usually sit on a beveled lip and don't just fall of unless spit

I think it would be more likely that the 2 O rings have shrunk rather than both splitting

Good advice. I do believe the O rings have just gone hard and shrunk. I need to talk with the Sole distributors when I pick the O rings up about how it is dismantled. I'll get him to draw a diagram.
Heeling the boat in the direction that will minimise the risk of the piece falling off whatever it is attached to is a good idea.
It probably leaks 20ml an hour, maybe 25ml. Not a lot.

cisco said...

MorningBird said..
Two O rings I have been told. I was thinking of removing the lever and taking the side plate off leaving the shaft in place.
Alternatively, I could buy a pack of disposable nappies and soak up the small amount of oil that escapes!

Buy the nappies. I might need them next time I go sailing with you.

Bring your own Cisco. I need any spares for when I get frightened.

Well done MB. Where did you get your mooring?