I just bought a used 27 kholer gdlt. Anyone know around how much it cost to get the seals changed? How can i tell if the bushings and shaft need changing as well. Cost?

i got my bearings and seals done a few years back.. they tell you your seals are bad if it takes more than 8-10 pumps of grease to fill your autoluber (but mine even new ALWAYS took more) and that little autolube tube should last 8 hrs. And me bearings started a metal on metal ungodly screetch that sounded so bad i couldent drive it anymore. at godevil it cost me right at 500.00 but i think that was w/ a new shaft which was 40.00.

I just replaced all of my seals upper and lowers the seals cost me about $50 + tax. I did the labor. I have never priced the bearing before or the bushing.
But if you look on Go Devils website you can look at the manual that gives pretty good info on how to tell if parts or bad and also installation.

Yeah i have the manual and read it. I dont have all the tools to do the job. How bad was it to change the seals. Any tips?

I just rebuilt the drive on my gdlt. I installed a new lower bushing and upper and lower seals and replaced the shaft. I have the old seal system, the parts were $110. The parts for the new seal system on units sold after 2001 cost about $30 more. I am not a mechanic and don’t have a shop, but I was able to do the job with just the few tools I have around the house. The only tool I had to borrow was a tap to cut threads in the bushings so I could screw a bolt in to pull them. It was pretty easy to do the rebuild. Following the work the unit runs smooth with no vibration.

I did the work because I had a bad vibration in the drive unit. On inspection the shaft was bent a full 3/8 inch in the middle and had a 1 foot long crack close to the lower end. I had beat the crap out of that shaft. I am pretty sure this was causing the vibration.

I replaced the lower bushing because it had about 30 thousands clearance. The spec calls for around 4 to 6 thousands. I could feel the shaft move in the bushing when I pushed it around. Even though it was worn I don’t think it was causing any problem. The upper bushing was tight and did not need to be changed. GD and several other people on this site have said that the upper bushing rarely needs to changed. After I put the new lower bushing in it did not need to bored, the shaft turned freely and I did not need to make any adjustments.

If your unit is running pretty smooth (some vibration is normal) and you are not having to add more than 4 to 8 pumps of grease after a 3hr run and you are not slinging grease out the upper seal then you probably do not need to rebuild the drive. These units are simple and tough and don’t tend toward catastrophic failure.

I am slinging grease from the top seal and the grease in the lubricator doesnt seem to last long. I dont really have much vibration and i have only about 1/16 play when moving the prop.

Do you have the old or new seal system?

I am far from an expert and I have not seen the motor, but it sounds like you need a new lower bushing (1/16 is alot of play) and new upper/lower seals. While you have the shaft out check it to see if it is bent or damaged. If you need a new prop I might would replace the shaft anyway.