I went to winterize my boat last night and my stuffing box has a constant drip, drip, drip. It filled the front of the engine well in about 20 minutes. I tried to tighten the nut, lossen and retighten, no luck in stopping or slowing down the leak. Is this something that can be temporarily fixed in the water? Any suggestions.
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Time for a haulout and dripless
Sounds like you are out of adjustment and time for new flax or better yet put a dripless on and rid the problem forever.
Sounds like you are out of adjustment and time for new flax or better yet put a dripless on and rid the problem forever.
Fix it before you sink
Chuck: If you do not have the time & money to put in the PSI dripless then you should at least do a re-pack. I think that you could have a boat guy do this for you. The packing materials are either the old stuff (wax impregnated cotton) or use the newer Telfon packing. It does not need to drip to work. This will keep you from sinking and can be done while the boat is in the water. In our area a pull is about $5.00/ft. so about $150 and the PSI dripless is about $180 plus installation and if you are going to do that why not do a cutlass bearing at the same time. It's really a good way to get rid of about $500.
Chuck: If you do not have the time & money to put in the PSI dripless then you should at least do a re-pack. I think that you could have a boat guy do this for you. The packing materials are either the old stuff (wax impregnated cotton) or use the newer Telfon packing. It does not need to drip to work. This will keep you from sinking and can be done while the boat is in the water. In our area a pull is about $5.00/ft. so about $150 and the PSI dripless is about $180 plus installation and if you are going to do that why not do a cutlass bearing at the same time. It's really a good way to get rid of about $500.
Chuck - Check this too ..
I bought my '85 H31 four years ago in St. Pete, Florida. On the run up to Oriental, NC, I ended up with a drip that I couldn't stop. I found out later, that someone had put teflon packing in the stuffing box. Repeated adjustments to stop the drip had caused the teflon to "score" the driveshaft. I ended up replacing the shaft & the stuffing box. It's a good idea to have your yard check the packing & check the shaft too. Once you have gone this far, consider replacing the cutlass bearing too. A note of warning is in order if you end up disturbing the engine/shaft alignment. On early H31s, the clearance between the shaft & the tube that it exits from the boat is a very close fit. Proper engine to shaft alignment is critical. If it's not aligned properly, the shaft will "thump" intermittently at different rpm ranges depending on Yanmar vibration. I am told that Hunter "opened up" this clearance on later H31s. My H31 is back in Florida now - in Charlotte Harbor. The diesel performed flawless on the 1000 mile trip down here. Hope this helps.
I bought my '85 H31 four years ago in St. Pete, Florida. On the run up to Oriental, NC, I ended up with a drip that I couldn't stop. I found out later, that someone had put teflon packing in the stuffing box. Repeated adjustments to stop the drip had caused the teflon to "score" the driveshaft. I ended up replacing the shaft & the stuffing box. It's a good idea to have your yard check the packing & check the shaft too. Once you have gone this far, consider replacing the cutlass bearing too. A note of warning is in order if you end up disturbing the engine/shaft alignment. On early H31s, the clearance between the shaft & the tube that it exits from the boat is a very close fit. Proper engine to shaft alignment is critical. If it's not aligned properly, the shaft will "thump" intermittently at different rpm ranges depending on Yanmar vibration. I am told that Hunter "opened up" this clearance on later H31s. My H31 is back in Florida now - in Charlotte Harbor. The diesel performed flawless on the 1000 mile trip down here. Hope this helps.
repack in water
i helped a buddy of mine repack while the boat was in the water..his h 37 had very good access to the box..had the flax pre cut and ready to be put in as soon as the old was removed...there will be some water coming in so have someone with you to help....
i helped a buddy of mine repack while the boat was in the water..his h 37 had very good access to the box..had the flax pre cut and ready to be put in as soon as the old was removed...there will be some water coming in so have someone with you to help....
Lock Nut?
Make sure you back off the locking nut before tightening the packing, then retighten the lock nut. Sorry, don't mean to insult your intelligence, it's just that when water is coming in at a too-fast rate, sometimes we forget to do some basic things -- been there, done that
Paul
Make sure you back off the locking nut before tightening the packing, then retighten the lock nut. Sorry, don't mean to insult your intelligence, it's just that when water is coming in at a too-fast rate, sometimes we forget to do some basic things -- been there, done that
PaulQuestion for first timer
I have no experience with the stuffing box and have not looked in my manuals. They're at the boat. This "stuffing box" on my 31 is a plastic nut that screws into another plastic nut that screws into something covered in a rubber/plastic with 2 hose clamps. The first and second nut are connected by a cotter pin. Which nut do I tighten? I have been thinking it was the first one, but now after seeing a few archive posts, I think I don't have it right. I need a little clarity. Thanks.
I have no experience with the stuffing box and have not looked in my manuals. They're at the boat. This "stuffing box" on my 31 is a plastic nut that screws into another plastic nut that screws into something covered in a rubber/plastic with 2 hose clamps. The first and second nut are connected by a cotter pin. Which nut do I tighten? I have been thinking it was the first one, but now after seeing a few archive posts, I think I don't have it right. I need a little clarity. Thanks.
First Timer Question
Now you know what this site is all about. The nut closest to the ENGINE/TRANSMISSION is the nut that you turn. The other nut is held by the clamps. You only adjust the nut so the engine quits leaking with the engine STOPPED. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN. If you overtighten the nut it can cause scoring of the shaft. Depending on the type of stuffing that you use the engine may or may not leak while underway. If you are using the cotton/wax flax there should be a slight drip (1-4 drips/minute) when the shaft is rotating. This is not required with the Teflon packing. Regardless, be sure that the shaft does NOT get hot when rotating. If you are not sure about this, I would recommend that you have a professional repack it for you. It is not very expensive, unless you need a new shaft. (About $300 plus a pull). DONOT test this while the shaft is rotating.
Now you know what this site is all about. The nut closest to the ENGINE/TRANSMISSION is the nut that you turn. The other nut is held by the clamps. You only adjust the nut so the engine quits leaking with the engine STOPPED. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN. If you overtighten the nut it can cause scoring of the shaft. Depending on the type of stuffing that you use the engine may or may not leak while underway. If you are using the cotton/wax flax there should be a slight drip (1-4 drips/minute) when the shaft is rotating. This is not required with the Teflon packing. Regardless, be sure that the shaft does NOT get hot when rotating. If you are not sure about this, I would recommend that you have a professional repack it for you. It is not very expensive, unless you need a new shaft. (About $300 plus a pull). DONOT test this while the shaft is rotating.
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