TRS leak problem
 

So I have been doing extensive work on the Panther over the last 6 months. Engines out, re-glassed delaminated stringer, gutted cleaned and painted bilge, pulled out almost all of Wellcrafts wiring and ran new, New heads and new roller rockers, all new battery and amplifier wires, rebuilt alternators, seapumps, sanded and painted my tabs cylinders and drives. I also rebuilt my TRS belhousings, 1 transmission, both tailstock bearings. + a few more things that I forgot.

Problem, 1 of my drives is leaking where the lower meets the upper. It also leaks out of the little hole in the front of the lower. I think this leads to where the exhaust goes through the drive. I replaced the 2 seals for where the upper and lower meet. I will tear it down tomorrow but looking for a few ideas what to look for tomorrow when I remove the lower. The other drive is fine. I have had this drive split a couple of times and have never replaced the seals. Now that I try to the right thing and replace the seals I get bit. :)

that sucks...I have never had my drive apart in the 10 years Ive had the boat...Did you split them to paint?

Yes, I split them to paint. I have had this one split when I blew the upper. I put new upper on and it would barely move so I kept taking it apart and removing shims till it felt like my other drive. I know this is not the way to set gears but it has been working fine for at least 6 years. I think there might be a nick on the surface, but it is coming out on both sides.

BTW, good to see ya back. I have not seen any posts from you in a while.

oil reservoir check valve seal?
 

I just put my TRS back on and filled it with lube and came back to the shop the next day to find a puddle of gear lube on the floor. Turned out that the oil reservoir check valve seal that gets pressed into the bell housing was bad (metal collar was actually bent causing the seal not to mate up with the check valve nipple on the drive). Oil leaked into the exhaust passage and ultimately exited by the prop. Once it leaks into the exhaust passage, it depends on the angle of the drive as to where it will exit. I'd check the check valve seal. Hope this helps - good luck!

That would be my luck. I have not had a working reservoir for almost 10 years with no problems. During my assembly rebuild I put new a seal in there. This is probably the issue.

That seal gets bent by the person putting the drive on. The drive should be on the studs before that coupler comes together so at that point the drive must be slid straight in from there. Don't know for a fact but it seems to me the gasket between the drive and bell would keep it from leaking regardless.

Agree I probably bent the seal putting the drive on. There might be just enough clearance in the studs to allow mis-alignment (?); I'm not sure. The drive slid on so quick with me pushing once the splines aligned I didn't have a chance to make sure it engaged properly. Either way, when I took the drive back off it was slightly bent. I was also surprised it leaked through the bell housing gasket!

The bell housing gasket isn't a sealing gasket, it's just there to take up some of the possible difference between the surfaces on the drive and the bell housing. The big O-ring around pinion shaft housing is what seals it.

I also have bent the fluid resevoir seal on the bell-housing when re-installing a TRS drive and had a nice little puddle on the floor after a couple of days. I bought a handful of them and keep them in the toolbox just in case, they seem to tear easy.

I use grease on the seal and the nipple on the drive side to keep it from tearing, helps but the main thing is to make sure you go slow and easy that last 3/4" when seating the drive.


The pics look like a leak between the upper and lower, not the bell-housing and the upper. If it were the bell-housing and upper the drip wouldn't wrap around the anti-cav plate like that.

True the large o-ring serves as the seal to keep water out of the bellows area.True also the bell housing gasket for the most part doesn't seal out water as there are even notches cut in the drive upper to allow water to flow out of the cavities past the gasket so it doesn't freeze in there. It does seal the exhaust passage and there is a ring shape in the gasket which goes around the oil coupling seal in the bell which certainly seems as if it would seal the coupling area completely. It's a thick gasket and I can't believe 90wt. gear lube could ever leak past it. Even with the bell seal dented or the lip torn from improper installation that area shouldn't leak with the gasket sealing completely around it.

Thanks for the shimming instructions and all of your help!
Jason