Patent ID: 8918972

Claim:
A method for sealing a shaft, comprising: forming a pre-mountable unit by mounting a sealing device to an installation device, said installation device including a cylindrical member having an exterior seal-engaging surface on which the sealing device is mounted and a center opening therethrough defining an interior shaft engaging surface; securing said pre-mountable unit in a housing with an outer surface of said sealing device engaging an inner surface of said housing while an inner surface of the sealing device remains mounted on the exterior seal-engaging surface of the installation device; and passing the shaft through said center opening of the installation device and into the housing; wherein as an exterior surface of the shaft is passed through said center opening of the installation device, said interior shaft engaging surface of said installation device attaches to the exterior surface of the shaft and is pulled in an axial direction away from said sealing device such that said sealing device sealingly engages the exterior surface of the shaft, wherein said installation device remains attached to the shaft during operation of said sealing device.