repairing a pitted drive shaft??

[mer]

well i just got this sportmaster lower unit apart to replace the bearing under the water pump and noticed that,where the water pump seals ride on the shaft are groved , pitted and rusted bad ,no way a seal could seal for long,if at all ..question ,can you fix this on your-own ...do they make a shaft repair sleave for this ..can you weld it up and mill back down or will this weaken the shaft....or my favorite JB weld the sucker and go?????thanks for any info fellers...oh and i don't have the money for a new one either..

[drasticplastic]

You can get and put on a sleave. They are called "SPEEDI-SLEEVES", You can get them at a bearing/seal supply warehouse. Here in Michigan I get them at Detriot Ball Bearing Co..

[mer]

You can get and put on a sleave. They are called "SPEEDI-SLEEVES", You can get them at a bearing/seal supply warehouse. Here in Michigan I get them at Detriot Ball Bearing Co....you would'nt happen to have a brand name and part #s would Ya and do you have to have a diffrent inside DA.seal with the new sleeve

[Scott in MN]

SKF Speedi-Sleeve #99087 worked on my CLE with sporty internals....
Used original seal...

[mer]

SKF Speedi-Sleeve #99087 worked on my CLE with sporty internals....
Used original seal...thanks much ...

[drasticplastic]

Mer, Scott has answered both your questions. If both seal surface areas are bad you will need 2 of the speedi-sleeves, the sleeves are only about 1/2" long/tall.

[WillySteve]

I tried the speedi-sleeves on my '95 260 and they kept taking the form of the crank splines on my D/S when I'd push them down. Finaly sent to a quality machine shop and they welded the bad area up, turned it down and hard chromed it. It's been fine now for 10 years!
You gotta' pay to play, but it would have been nice for Merc. to let us know when they went to 1-piece high carbon steel drive shafts! ;)