Hunter 340 brand of the packless shaft seal

[ger123]

Hi!

I am looking for a maintenance kit for my dripless shaft seal on my hunter 340 (2001). The dealer of PYI in germany told me that every PYI PSS have a connector for a hose to vented it. But my PSS havn`t it so I am not shure about the brand - Is it a PYI???
Have someone the same PSS (without vent) or a picture to check it?

Thank´s
ger123

 

[Dave Groshong]

It sure looks like a PYI PSS shaft seal, I think they did away with the "burping" vent hose years ago, we offer the kit:

Hunter 340 shaft seal, dripless, maintenance kit

Hunter 340 shaft seal, dripless, maintenance kit

shop.hunterowners.com

 

[Justin_NSA]

I thought it was the other way around. They added it to the newer model seals.
My LasDrop Gen II has one

 

[Rick D]

I had one on my Vision 32 and on my current 40.5 which is 25 years old. Neither one has a vent hose. my understanding is that they added them later to avoid having to burp the seal upon launch.

 

[Justin_NSA]

They also prevent a bubble from forming so the seal stays lubricated.

 

[Ed Caldwell]

Hi!

I am looking for a maintenance kit for my dripless shaft seal on my hunter 340 (2001).

Hi, ger123
I have the original (non-vented) PSS shaft seal on our 1999 H340, and replaced the bellows after 17 years. I know they recommend replacing the bellows much more often, but I wasn't concerned despite the internet hysteria. Never a leak or hint of any wear on examination after removal, and as that's where I store my engine key, I check it before and after every cruise. I talked to their Tech Support about total replacement, they said for sailboats, given the hours and slow prop RPM, replacing the carbon seals is really not necessary, as they have reports of power boats with many thousands of hours and no problem.

The kit included a new bellows and the allen head set screws part number 07-100-134 PSS HS 1 LOG 1 3/4. To get the vented version of the seal, you will need to order the entire assembly. I haul out only every 2 years or so and burp the seal to let a little water in past the seal after getting dropped in the water.

I did add the PYI shaft collar 07-SRC-100 as a backup to the set screws, but on removal of the old set screws, again, no problem noted. I decided against replacing the strut bearing (again no apparent play), but did clean up the shaft with some fine sandpaper underneath where the hardware sits and carefully realigned the engine.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Hi, ger123
I talked to their Tech Support about total replacement, they said for sailboats, given the hours and slow prop RPM, replacing the carbon seals is really not necessary, as they have reports of power boats with many thousands of hours and no problem.

LasDrop said something similar. For low RPM engines like sailboats, a hose is used as a vent. For stinkpots they actually connect the hose to a water supply.

 

[Rick D]

They also prevent a bubble from forming so the seal stays lubricated.

Justin, how does a bubble form?

 

[Justin_NSA]

Justin, how does a bubble form?

explained better here

Dripless shaft seal maintenance

While following the conversation on another thread the subject of proper venting for a dripless shaft seal came up. Which made me think since I have a dripless seal and didn't remember ever seeing a vent hose. I went down to visit the boat yesterday and made a point to look at the setup there...

forums.sailboatowners.com

 

[sailcapt340]

On my 2000 340, we purchased new in 2000, it had the original PSS System without the vent hose. it required burbling each year after launch. I don’t have a picture of the original, but I am looking. you really should replace that with the new vented model. I replaced mine 3 years ago and they all come with a vent now.

One extra thing to think about is installing a bottle, similar to your antifreeze overflow bottle, to the vent tube coming from the PSS Vent Tube. it should be place higher in the back of the engine compartment. The reason being is, when in reverse, water will be forced up into the tube and “could” leak out into the compartment.
It“s not a lot of water but it will drip and cause rusting.

I”ll get a photo of mine this week and send it out for you to look at if you would like.

 

[ger123]

Thank you, the forum and its members are great!
ger123

 

[Bill19233]

The seal on my 2000 340 has a vent and the hose is connected to the mixing elbow on the engine. Not sure if it’s a PO modification or factory. And I replaced the bellows a couple years ago just because I had no idea how old it was.