Stuffing box leak.

[cpt_757]

Repacked, was looked fine.
But when engine running, dripping starts.(in neutral).
So repack did not work? And what is the next?

[zeehag]

how fast it dripping? if flowing like mississippi river thru nola, you may need new cutlass bearing and stuffing box. replaceable via haulout. if only a little drip while engine running, monitor it

[cpt_757]

Originally Posted by zeehag

how fast it dripping? if flowing like mississippi river thru nola, you may need new cutlass bearing and stuffing box. replaceable via haulout. if only a little drip while engine running, monitor it

Thank you,
It is about every 5 second while engine running.
Replaced cutlass bearing last year while bottom painting.
Maybe replace to drip less seal.

[MV Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by cpt_757

Repacked, was looked fine.
But when engine running, dripping starts.(in neutral).
So repack did not work? And what is the next?

It's possible they just need to be adjusted a little more. Seems uncommon for someone to repack a stuffing box and get it set exactly right the first time. Loosen the lock ring and tighten it a quarter turn. Retighten the lock ring and test it again. Or get a mechanic to help you with it. I'd try this before hauling it out.

[Cheechako]

Drip every 5 seconds isn't to bad. Were you able to inspect the shaft at any time? Many boats that sit unused corrode inside the stuffing box if a SS shaft. Repacking wont help, new shaft needed.

[Tetepare]

What material did you use?

How do you know it fully encircled the shaft? Was there overlap?

How tight is it? Have you done this yourself before?

[cpt_757]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Drip every 5 seconds isn't to bad. Were you able to inspect the shaft at any time? Many boats that sit unused corrode inside the stuffing box if a SS shaft. Repacking wont help, new shaft needed.

The mechanic did not say anything when he did the job, said everything fine other than one of my bilge hose.
I will ask him again thanks.
I hope shaft is ok.

[cpt_757]

Originally Posted by JohnEasley

It's possible they just need to be adjusted a little more. Seems uncommon for someone to repack a stuffing box and get it set exactly right the first time. Loosen the lock ring and tighten it a quarter turn. Retighten the lock ring and test it again. Or get a mechanic to help you with it. I'd try this before hauling it out.

Thanks, I will ask my mechanic to check with it.

[cpt_757]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Drip every 5 seconds isn't to bad. Were you able to inspect the shaft at any time? Many boats that sit unused corrode inside the stuffing box if a SS shaft. Repacking wont help, new shaft needed.

Every 5 second is not bad with engine running neutral?

[Scot McPherson]

once per 5 seconds while engine running (vibration) isn't so bad. There are two times when rate of drip is important.
1) When the engine is not running, you should be dripping once or twice per minute
2) when the shaft is turning. you want to ensure that water isn't fanning out with the spinning of the shaft. If it's still just dripping, then its fine...If the water is getting thrown, then you need to reduce the amount of water coming through.


The stuff box should be stuffed with 3 or 4 layers of flax (if you used flax), and the flax needs to be perfectly seated. You don't want any gaps end to end for each ring, nor do you want overlap. And you should stagger the ends so that they are 120 degrees apart from one another from one ring to the next so the water doesn't have a straight shot through the stuffing.


Tighten down on the stuffing a little. Sometimes as the flax moistens, it can be tightened down a little more.


Test the tightness while underway. If you are running full turns and the stuffing box feels hot enough that it's uncomfortable to touch, then your stuffing may be too tight and may harm your shaft. If the stuffing box is cool to the touch after running full turns for several minutes, then you probably have a lot more tightness you can add to to it.

[cpt_757]

Originally Posted by Scot McPherson

once per 5 seconds while engine running (vibration) isn't so bad. There are two times when rate of drip is important.
1) When the engine is not running, you should be dripping once or twice per minute
2) when the shaft is turning. you want to ensure that water isn't fanning out with the spinning of the shaft. If it's still just dripping, then its fine...If the water is getting thrown, then you need to reduce the amount of water coming through.


The stuff box should be stuffed with 3 or 4 layers of flax (if you used flax), and the flax needs to be perfectly seated. You don't want any gaps end to end for each ring, nor do you want overlap. And you should stagger the ends so that they are 120 degrees apart from one another from one ring to the next so the water doesn't have a straight shot through the stuffing.


Tighten down on the stuffing a little. Sometimes as the flax moistens, it can be tightened down a little more.


Test the tightness while underway. If you are running full turns and the stuffing box feels hot enough that it's uncomfortable to touch, then your stuffing may be too tight and may harm your shaft. If the stuffing box is cool to the touch after running full turns for several minutes, then you probably have a lot more tightness you can add to to it.

Thank you,
Basically, almost no dripping (means 1-2 drips per minutes)when engine is not running, neither during shaft turning, no sprinkled neither.
I will talk to my mechanics tomorrow morning.
Thanks again,

[CSY Man]

I used virtuallly drip-less packing, then coated it with Teflon on the inside.
Tightened until it stopped leaking, then checked while running during cruise
Power.
If the metal got warm to the touch, I backed off. It it leaked a drop 6 months later I tightened and checked temperature and so on.
Used the same packing for 10 years with adjustments once or twice a year and no leaks, no drops and no drips. Best thing since sliced bread.
I always had good cutlass bearings, changed every other haulout, no slack allowed and no vibration: Had new shaft installed and prop computer balanced and adjusted.
Very smooth running and no drips or leaks.

Here is the link to the above packing:
http://gfopacking.com/

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by cpt_757

Thank you,
Basically, almost no dripping (means 1-2 drips per minutes)when engine is not running, neither during shaft turning, no sprinkled neither.
I will talk to my mechanics tomorrow morning.
Thanks again,

No need to talk to the mechanic, you're done. Just check it monthly.

All of the "dripless" are NOT really NO drip. You NEED a few to keep it lubricated. Even the instructions with the flax say that.

[a64pilot]

Yes, it's drip less, not dripless.

[thomm225]

If it's an old style stuffing box, it's suppose to leak when the drive shaft is turning

Servicing Your Stuffing Box by Don Casey - BoatTECH - BoatUS

From the article above:

Adjusting
Water is required to lubricate conventional packing, so a properly adjusted stuffing box can be watertight when the shaft is stopped, but it must drip when the shaft is turning. Two or three drops per minute are adequate. It is not uncommon to see stuffing boxes leak at a much higher rate.