Squeal sound

My Max has just over 102 hours. Yesterday while out on the boat I noticed a squeal sound while coming off plane ultimately to idle in forward gear while checking out a cove. Once the boat reached idle speed it began making a squeal or squeak sound. Kind of sounded like a car with a slipping wet belt, except when I checked the bilge it was dry. Next I tried to isolate was it coming from the engine, transmission or vdrive. I used the button on the throttle to rev only the engine while not in gear and there was no squeal sound and all seemed perfect. Then I put the boat in forward gear at idle speed and the squeal started again. I opened the drive access door to try and find the source of the squeal and it's hard to tell if it was the drive making the noise or the transmission. It did not seem to affect the boat performance at all and the sound would go away as soon as I would go just last idle speed or RPM.

Throughout the day I would slow down to idle and try to listen for the sound to see if it was repeating and it didn't for most of the day except for one or two other times. Boat felt fine so I'm hoping this is nothing serious. Planning to take it to the dealer this week and have them look at it. I just had the drive fluids and oil changed at the dealer, so this was my first time using the boat since service. Hoping this is something simple for them to isolate and fix.

Just curious if others may know of some possible sources for this sound. Thanks for any insight or help!

Possibly a shaft seal?

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Are there any signs I can look for with a bad shaft seal? Wouldn’t that mean water would be getting in too? Bilge and vdrive area were bone dry and no signs of water spraying around. Idk, I’m still new to these boats coming from jet.

I just commented on your Facebook post saying I still think it could be humidity and a squealing belt. But when my shaft seal started squealing it wasn’t leaking. My squeal started to always stay around idle. I carefully put my hand down there while someone else drove and moved the seal a little bit and I could tell that’s where the sound came from.

Also my serp belt will also squeal from time to time. I just put some belt conditioner on it and it lasts a few months. It’s not from water in the bilge, it’s just the bilge it really humid.

Quick test that won't hurt anything.
On the shaft seal take marine grease (thick) and rub a thin coat on the seal itself.
You could use spray silicone also and let it "harden" then run it again. The rubber can dry out on the interior side and squeak. After it burns up and the squeak goes away it will begin to drip. Water acts as the lube now that it is leaking and the squeak goes away.

Yep to both the seal comments. That's my bet. The belt is also a possibility too. Easy to rub belt dressing on it too while it's running. I have seen people use a big preschooler crayon too. Lightly touch the belt with it. Need to be careful though! If it is squealing, that will stop it or change the pitch quickly.

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Dropping the boat off tomorrow morning. Based off the replies on my FB post it seems this might be a shaft seal issue. A guy posted a video and the sound is very similar to what I heard. They posted the shaft seal SC uses is not the highest quality and they recommended I go with a Glide shaft seal or other higher quality than what the boat came with. I will hopefully know more this week and will let y’all know the updates.

Hope it's good news and an easy fix

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My shaft seal has developed a very slow drip. At the end of a full day of boating maybe 1-2 cups of water is present in bilge. I'd hate to take it in the dealer now and really not sure i could replace myself. The boat still has warranty left. Can I chance it and wait to end of summer or is this something I must fix now?

Shaft seal is an easy fix IF you have the puller for the coupler.
Mine was leaking all last season. Between the shaft seal and the rudder O-Ring I would get 5ish gallons after a 7hr day.
Changed the rudder o-ring before Norris since the boat would be in the water for 6 days. Still got some water but never enough for the bilge to function.
Changed the seal 2 weeks ago from the SEF version to the Glide setup. Completely dry now. I can see where the SEF seal was rubbing on the bottom and it became oval and leaked.

1-2 cups is nothing to worry about. You can wait until the end of the season. If you still have warranty, you might want to schedule the fix and keep using until the dealer has time to get it fixed.