Did it
Just to let you all know, I was able to remove the packing. Nothing worked, including using a dry wall screw. What I had to do was use a small, right angle cordless drill with a small bit and drill into the packing, turning it into mush. I did, in the process, slightly mar the shaft, but it is up beyond where the packing nut sits, so this shouldn't affect the seal. One detail: I ended up using four pieces of packing, instead of three, since three pieces left me screwing down the packing nut so far that there was hardly any thread left on the male end.
thanks to everybody for their suggestions.
Just to let you all know, I was able to remove the packing. Nothing worked, including using a dry wall screw. What I had to do was use a small, right angle cordless drill with a small bit and drill into the packing, turning it into mush. I did, in the process, slightly mar the shaft, but it is up beyond where the packing nut sits, so this shouldn't affect the seal. One detail: I ended up using four pieces of packing, instead of three, since three pieces left me screwing down the packing nut so far that there was hardly any thread left on the male end.
thanks to everybody for their suggestions.
