carbon seal loose on shaft

[Olive]

Hi everyone. Can anybody tell me if there is meant to be a gap on the carbon seal to the shaft or should it be a snug fit ? I just pulled mine out because of a bent shaft and it`s got about 4mm clearance around the shaft. Any help would be great. Thanks in advance . Olive

 

[ocod]

Nope it like a floating ring.
You should be fine.

 

[Dr Honda]

Yep... it floats. The ID of the carbon ring is much bigger than the OD of the drive shaft.

 

[Olive]

so how do you know if it needs replacing ?

 

[bigJake]

the purpose of the carbon ring is to provide a seal against the stainless steel ring. The bellows that the carbon ring clamps into covers the driveshaft and is full of water. When the carbon ring wears down, you will not get a good seal against the stainless steel ring and will allow air to be sucked into the pump and cause cavitation - high rpms but not going anywhere. If it is worn really bad, water will leak into the hull. If you are having cavitation, or a delay on take off, pull back on the carbon ring and put some waterproof grease on the face that mates with the stainless steel ring to improve the seal. If your cavitation goes away, you need to replace the carbon ring. The water inside the bellows cools the carbon ring. When you run the ski on the trailer out of the water, the carbon ring gets very hot and wears quickly.