Hello all. I recently picked up a somewhat neglected '96 Oceanis 321 and am working my way though the jobs to get her back into shape.
I found that the packing seal was leaking a bit, so I tightened the hose clamp on the front of it (bear with me here) until it stopped and penciled in a to-do item for researching the thing a bit more for more complete service after the worst jobs were done. My previous boat had a stuffing box, so I wasn't familiar with this Volvo Penta system and apparently neither was my surveyor, because what he should have told me was there shouldn't be a hose clamp on the front of that seal.
My assumption at this point is that the previous owners have just ignored the seal, never greasing it on the recommended 200 hour schedule, and it probably is shot to hell. At some point it probably started leaking and someone slapped a hose clamp on the front of it. It's kind of amazing that that works at all considering the tapered shape of the front of that seal. I loosened it to see how bad it is and the solid stream of water shooting in is quite alarming. It wouldn't overwhelm the bilge pump, but we have moved way beyond drips here.
So, I'm guessing that I need to replace that whole thing, right? That's going to mean a haul out to pull the shaft? Or could it be replaced in the water since the shaft only has to be slid back enough for replacement, not pulled completely. I was thinking maybe something like plumbers putting could be packed around on the outside until the new unit was installed to minimize the water intrusion.
I haven't had much luck finding the same item for sale online, so is there a popular model that is used to replace it? Any recommendations from others who have been through this one already? I have a 25mm shaft, and there doesn't seem to be any that fit that in the store here on this site. The Tides Marine website does have a kit for a 25mm shaft, but they also need the stern tube size, which I don't know at this point.
I have a new prop coming in later this week that I was going to have a diver put on, but with this new situation, it sounds like I should just haul it out and do everything at once.
I found that the packing seal was leaking a bit, so I tightened the hose clamp on the front of it (bear with me here) until it stopped and penciled in a to-do item for researching the thing a bit more for more complete service after the worst jobs were done. My previous boat had a stuffing box, so I wasn't familiar with this Volvo Penta system and apparently neither was my surveyor, because what he should have told me was there shouldn't be a hose clamp on the front of that seal.
My assumption at this point is that the previous owners have just ignored the seal, never greasing it on the recommended 200 hour schedule, and it probably is shot to hell. At some point it probably started leaking and someone slapped a hose clamp on the front of it. It's kind of amazing that that works at all considering the tapered shape of the front of that seal. I loosened it to see how bad it is and the solid stream of water shooting in is quite alarming. It wouldn't overwhelm the bilge pump, but we have moved way beyond drips here.
So, I'm guessing that I need to replace that whole thing, right? That's going to mean a haul out to pull the shaft? Or could it be replaced in the water since the shaft only has to be slid back enough for replacement, not pulled completely. I was thinking maybe something like plumbers putting could be packed around on the outside until the new unit was installed to minimize the water intrusion.
I haven't had much luck finding the same item for sale online, so is there a popular model that is used to replace it? Any recommendations from others who have been through this one already? I have a 25mm shaft, and there doesn't seem to be any that fit that in the store here on this site. The Tides Marine website does have a kit for a 25mm shaft, but they also need the stern tube size, which I don't know at this point.
I have a new prop coming in later this week that I was going to have a diver put on, but with this new situation, it sounds like I should just haul it out and do everything at once.
