Last fall, I installed a new V-Drive, prop shaft, shaft seal, and strut on my 2000 21V. I've noticed water in the bilge after using it this summer, so I spent some time investigating and found that it's coming through at the strut bolt holes. I followed the directions below from boatwakes below when I installed the strut. Any ideas on how to fix the leak? Hoping I don't have to uninstall the strut and reinstall it again.
Remove the old strut sealant with a product called De-bond to degrade and remove the silicone. Scrape away and clean all underwater gelcoat surfaces with sealant on them in the strut area and wipe with acetone prior to installation. Dry fit the unit and install the shaft so it's centered in the hull penetration (use some wadded up pieces of cardboard or paper towel to center it in the stern tube) and then mark the hull with a sharpie around each corner of the strut base to ensure it's in the correct position when you final install it. Use 3M 4200 fast cure sparingly around the perimeter of the base before you bed the strut permanently and coat the lower through-bolt threads near the head with it before you install each one. Put sealant on the inside of the hull at the bolt holes around the bolt threads AFTER the bolts are installed from below (this is a two person job with 2 tubes of sealant and many rubber gloves, you don't want this stuff to touch your skin or you'll end up with it in your b-hole). Torque the nuts down to a reasonable amount and then install the shaft again to make sure it sits evenly in the stern tube. Once verified the shaft is centered, torque the nuts to approximately 25 lb/ft. Clean up excess sealant with paper towels and acetone.
Remove the old strut sealant with a product called De-bond to degrade and remove the silicone. Scrape away and clean all underwater gelcoat surfaces with sealant on them in the strut area and wipe with acetone prior to installation. Dry fit the unit and install the shaft so it's centered in the hull penetration (use some wadded up pieces of cardboard or paper towel to center it in the stern tube) and then mark the hull with a sharpie around each corner of the strut base to ensure it's in the correct position when you final install it. Use 3M 4200 fast cure sparingly around the perimeter of the base before you bed the strut permanently and coat the lower through-bolt threads near the head with it before you install each one. Put sealant on the inside of the hull at the bolt holes around the bolt threads AFTER the bolts are installed from below (this is a two person job with 2 tubes of sealant and many rubber gloves, you don't want this stuff to touch your skin or you'll end up with it in your b-hole). Torque the nuts down to a reasonable amount and then install the shaft again to make sure it sits evenly in the stern tube. Once verified the shaft is centered, torque the nuts to approximately 25 lb/ft. Clean up excess sealant with paper towels and acetone.
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