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

Update
 

I don't remember smoking crack when I put the front exhaust seal in. But apparently I was.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e/IMAG0469.jpg

Hey guy's, I'm havin the same kind of trouble. Had a local marina install new bellows and check the u-joints last fall. When I pick-up the boat from storage, i find drive oil on the floor, coming from the prop. I removed the prop, and the oil is coming from around the exhaust port area. I also saw oil by the lower gear housing nuts. This TRS has always run great, just didn't have time to change the bellows myself. Could it be the o-ring in the lower gear case, or the gaskets mounting the drive to the bell. Harry

I need to know more about the oil rev. check valve seal in the TRS drive, can someone school me please.

OK Rookie, I know this post is old but I'm sure you know that front seal isn't on an exhaust passage. That would be the lube oil circulation passage. TRS circulates the oil between the upper and lower. The drive shaft coupler between the upper and lower seconds as a circulating pump. That's why you don't see many drive showers out there for TRS's. They don't need them.

smdude, There is a lube oil coupler which engages between the drive and bell when the drive is installed. It keeps oil from flowing out from the reservoir when the drive is removed. It has a seal on the bell side which can be easily damaged when the drive is being installed if the installer doesn't have everything lined up perfect. This seal/coupler is right above the exhaust passage. If damaged good enough the oil can leak and run down into the exhaust passage.

Second way oil could get in the exhaust is if the o-ring between the upper and lower which goes around the bearing which you see in the pic above leaks. The exhaust passage is the large square opening you see right above the bearing in the pic.

Beings the marina removed the drive for servicing I would lean towards them damaging the seal if you never had this problem before. They would not have needed to seperate the upper and lower for any reason. Lot of marinas aren't used to seeing a TRS and aren't used to wrestling one on correctly.

Check your PM's.

LOL, I had no clue that was not an exhaust passage. I did know the oil did circulate throughout a TRS. I really don't know much about the drive transmission portion of my boat. All though I have had them all apart. I just tear stuff down and figure how to put it back together. And once again thanks for all of your input/help.

Jason

Ya if you ever noticed the drive shaft coupler between the upper and lower drive shafts has a piece of round stock spiraling around it and welded on. This gets the drive lube circulating through the upper and lower drive shaft cavities and back the other way through that front passage.

working on the trs
 

dang it jason,
your supposed to be on oxy during assembly and crack once you got the boat in the water !
get it straight already

I got a chuckle when I read that I was smoking crack.

I guess next summer we will see how much these drives can handle with the addition of blowers that I decided to buy for no apparent reason. :eek: LOL

I just found the same problem puddle on the shop floor I been running the drives two years trouble free . Doing the suggested inspections and clipped the oil seal on the the starboard side. Came in this morning and sure enough the puddle . I have some new ones coming in the morning . My question is since its pressed in do i need to pull the bell housing to press out the old one ? and to press in the new one ? was thinking about a light puller if i could get the old one out but worried about doing any damage to the bell housing. Any suggestions would be of great help . Thanks JP

No need to pull the bell housing. You can pry them out pretty easily without damaging the bell. You can't get to it from behind anyway due to the way the bell is machined. You will see what I mean when you get one out. Something that may help a little but not absolutely necessary is to put the seal in a freezer for a while ahead of time. Also be sure you don't leave any burrs on the edge from prying out the old one that may keep the new one from going in smoothly.