Hunter 33 Stuffing Box dripping

[Tally Ho]

Have had a Volvo shaft seal on my boat for 15 problem free years; has never leaked. Just lubricate it with Volvo grease annually. Mine is overdo for replacement now.

Good to hear. Looking forward to launching in April and seeing how the Volvo shaft seal works.

Big difference in the length between my traditional stuffing box and the new Volvo!





Greg

 

[Nachismo]

Sorry to change the heading of this thread, but I have been needing to tighten my teflon stuffing about 1/20th of a turn after every time I motor. Everything is less than 1 year old.

I’m a little overpowered in my arms so I’m thinking I have been too ‘careful’ while tightening the nuts together. But when I go to tighten after motoring, nothing is loose.

Anybody know another reason this could be happening? Thought I’d ask before I crank down on the nuts even harder

 

[jssailem]

Possible issues:

• Did you stager the cuts of the stuffing so they are not aligned? The cut points can create path to leak.
• Did you use enough stuffing, i.e 3-4 wraps?
• Did you sue the correct size of stuffing for your box?
• Is there still room to tighten the stuffing box or are you completely closed?

 

[Nachismo]

I had a well respected mechanic replace the stuffing box less than a year ago. I was painting the bottom when he did it so I never saw. I assume he did it correctly. Still have a ton of room to tighten. Every time I pull into the dock it’s back to a trickle & a tiny turn brings back to a drip per minute. Then it all happens again. I may just repack it.

 

[jssailem]

I packed mine with standard flax about 4 years ago. No drips when stopped. Water gets forced into the top just aft of the box and down the stern tube, on my setup. Shaft runs cool to the touch.

I'll be changing out the packing next time I haul out of the water for paint.

If you find the teflon packing not working, it might be worth trying the standard flax.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Is the nut loosening? Maybe you need to lockwire it.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I'm going to suspect these dock neighbours of yours are power boaters. Not the sharpest knives in drawer.

Never heard of "shaft seals" before but that's as typical a packing gland as you're going to find on a Hunter. Read the articles posted above and you're in business.

Following post #2 will give you peace of mind until haulout.

Last year I installed a Lasdrop DrySeal Lip Seal which is a shaft seal and am very happy with it. Is does not have the issues with needing to replace the bellows every few years like the PSS and it does not have that nasty provision that says that the shaft needs to be rotated as least once a month to prevent pitting on the carbon seal faces. I installed mine with two extra lip seals installed on the shaft which will allow me to change out the seal in the water a couple of times without needing to remove the shaft flange.