Cartridge Seal

A mechanical seal or lip seal(s) contained in a preassembled housing to aid in the seal’s installation, maintenance, and replacement.
What is a cartridge seal?
A cartridge seal is a mechanical seal or lip seal(s) that is contained in a preassembled housing to aid in the seal’s installation, maintenance, and replacement.
What is the difference between a cartridge seal and a component seal?
Component seals are many individual pieces, installed separately, that work together to create a seal. Cartridge seals are self-contained – housing each component in a preassembled unit.
What are the different types of cartridge seals
While there are many different types of cartridge seals, here are a few examples offered by Viking Pump:
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Cartridge Mechanical Seal | Double Mechanical Seal | Cartridge Triple Lip Seal |
How to install a mechanical Seal
Here are some basic steps for installing a cartridge seal. These steps will vary depending on the type of seal and the pump technology it’s going into, but for this example these steps relate to installing a cartridge mechanical seal into Viking Pump’s 4124A Series™.
1. Place the seal installation sleeve into the shaft and lubricate the sleeve and shaft. | ![]() |
2. Slide the seal assembly onto the shaft and over the installation sleeve until the assembly contacts the bracket face. | ![]() |
3. Remove the installation sleeve. | |
4. Reassemble the pump and set the end clearance. | |
5. Install the gland cap screws. Do not fully tighten at this time. | ![]() |
6. Turn the shaft several times to center the seal. | |
7. Tighten the cap screws tight enough to compress the seal gasket. | |
8. Evenly tighten the seal sleeve set screws to set the collar to the shaft. | ![]() |
9. Rotate or remove the seal spacers and check rotation. | ![]() |
10. Reconnect seal plan or plug unused connections. |