Newbie at shaft tighting question

[PGIJon]

In order to remove the built up corrosion, I sprayed on an anti-corrosive on the stuffing box/Shaft seal... and after a bit, the seal started dripping at a rate of nearly a drop a second. The corrosion must have sealed the leak..... Anyway... My question is, which Nut is the locking nut and which is the adjusting one... Basically, I suppose I'm asking which one do I push away from me and which one towards me.... . Thanks! -Jon


PS the drip is coming from the Engine side of the left nut.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Depends ...................

......................... on whether you want to tighten or loosen the gland nut.

Let's say you want to tighten it.

1. Hold the L.H. nut in position with a wrench.
2. Pull (the top of) the R.H. nut (lock nut) towards you a turn or two.
3. Pull (the top of) the L.H. nut towards you. About a flat of the nut.
4. The L.H. nut will tighten the packing.
5. When you've got it tight enough, hold the L.H. nut in position with a wrench.
6. Push (the top of) the R.H. nut away from you until it jams up against the L.H. nut.

Run it in to be sure you've got it where you want it.

 

[Warren Milberg]

The aft nut, nearest the log, is the locking nut. The one closest to the coupling is the compression nut containing the stuffing material. From the look of things in your pic, you have quite a bit of corrosion on the entire gland and my guess is the leak you report is caused by your shaft being corroded/scored as well. While you may be able to stem the leak in the short term by (1) loosening the lock nut and (2) tightening the compression nut, and then (3) re-tightening the lock nut, you should also determine if your shaft is permanently scored and in need of resurfacing and or replacement.

 

[PGIJon]

Thanks Warren & Ralph.. This made it clear and I was able to tighten it up... As to the shaft being scored, I was just replaced when I purchased the boat just under 2 yrs ago.
Thanks again! -Jon