2007 outback leak drive shaft

[gregski]

Yes it is normal but probably at much less of a leak than you are seeing. Drive shaft seals use a "stuffing box" type of seal. The basic idea is that you coil a waxy cord around the drive shaft and then clamp it to seal it off. You could over-tighten the seal and it wouldn't leak but this would generate excessive friction and heat build up, which could be catastrophic. So you need it to leak a little. Ideally, this should be a drip - but that wouldn't really fill your bilge. It's OK-ish to have them leak more than that as long as your bilge pump works. (Mine leaked pretty badly and I just appreciated having such a clean bilge since it was always getting flushed)

As the seals age, they leak more. Depending on how old the seal is, you may be able to simply tighten the nuts a bit to slow the leak. The proper solution is to repack the stuffing box which isn't a difficult or expensive task.

Edit: I just realized that 2007 was when some/all of the Moombas started using the newer dripless seal. I'm not sure which you have. I believe that once they start to leak at all, you will need to replace it (the seal - not the boat)