Prop Oil seal test pressure

S

SnowTexan

New member
So I pulled my lower unit to swap out an impeller and decided to pull the prop and inspect the seals. The outer seal looked terrible. I am a long way from any marine mechanic and do not have the proper tool to remove the prop shaft so I did the 5th or 6th best thing: i picked the worn seal out with a screwdriver (taking care not to scratch the shaft and shred the replacement shortly after installation). The inner seal looks great, and I performed a leak test using my dingy hand pump and some gorilla tape. Yeah thats right all you professional mechanics you read that correctly 😂. I left the inner seal after seeing no air bubbles escaping with a soap and water mix. Replaced outer seal. Best I can do under the circumstances but my question is this: when a shop tests for leaks how much pressure is used? The quest for self reliance continues via reliance on cbrat wisdom.

Thanks!

Nigel
 
12 PSI, and should keep the pressure for 5 minutes. It is tested thru the upper port. The soapy water does a good job. You should be good to go.
 
thataway":210c7znc said:
12 PSI, and should keep the pressure for 5 minutes. It is tested thru the upper port. The soapy water does a good job. You should be good to go.
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:thup What Bob said :thup
 
Something that is best practice, is to always pull the prop and related washers at each oil change period. This allows a good inspection of the propeller blades, ensures that the prop does not freeze up on the shaft, so that it can be changed in the future, allows a visual inspection of the seal and most of all, you get to ensure that there is no fishing line wrapped forward of the prop, chewing away the shaft seal.
You can true up the prop as needed with a block of wood and a ball pen hammer (minor dings) and you can use a file to clean up any burs.
When reinstalling the prop, lubricated the prop shaft and washers with a waterproof grease (synthetic Green Grease for your local auto store is great for this) place a small piece of 2x4 wood between the prop and the underside of the anti-cavitation plate. This will allow you to tighten to prop and align the nut to except the cotter pin.
 
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