OEM shaft stuffing box for 1989 Hunter 33.5

[RichW9603]

Hi all,
Will likely want to replace the packing in my shaft stuffing box for my new (to me) 1989 H33.5. Anyone know what the OEM stuffing box type is? I have researched pretty extensively how to replace the packing, and one forum member who replaced his said his had three pieces of packing, whereas others say the Hunter OEM type only had two pieces of packing with a washer in the middle. Here is a link to the guy talking about how his had three pieces of packing: http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/88-legend-35-stuffing-box.140169/#post-911081
But from this post you can see a picture of the supposed OEM one which has the two pieces with the washer in the middle.
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/88-legend-35-stuffing-box.140169/#post-911921

I will get back to the boat in a couple days to see if it is one of these plastic / nylon boxes or if it is a bronze one, but if anyone knows what the OEM one should be that would be good information. He also says his was 5/16" packing, but everyone else seems to say the packing was 3/16".

Thanks,
'Dubs

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I would go with Warren's recommendations as the bronze stuffing box appears much easier to work on. I have a 1" shaft and use 1/4" teflon impregnated flax which lasts about four years.

 

[RichW9603]

Thanks Ralph! I was definitely thinking about swapping out to a bronze, but the boat really should be out of the water for that (I think?) since it would involve removing or at least disconnecting the rubber hose leading to the through-hull opening. So I wanted to limit the in-water portion to just changing out the packing. Great recommendation, and thank you.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

After reading you post a little more closely, I see a question reamains as to whether the gland is plastic or bronze. I'll take a wild guess and say the gland is bronze as I don't think Hunter went to the cheaper plastic glands until the early 2000's. I've noticed at the boat shows I've been to recently that the glands are back to bronze.

Re-packing in the water can be a relaxed job if you are set up to seal off the bottom of the gland while you are pulling out the old packing from the gland nut.

 

[RichW9603]

Hi all,
Made it down to the boat and checked out the stuffing box. In just about every picture of a stuffing box and shaft I have seen, the stuffing box is perfectly centered around the shaft. Mine, however, seems to be off to one side. See attached pics. It is also leaking a lot more than it should. At the dock with everything quiet it drips one drop about every 5 seconds, but when we took the boat out earlier there was a steady trickle coming from it. Then, oddly, when we were under sails with the engine long turned off, there was still a trickle coming out of it. I don't see how the packing can function well with the stuffing box at an angle. Obviously the packing needs to be replaced, but my concern is about the three internal washers, if those have been worn on the inside. If those nylon internal washers need replacing, I don't think that can be done without removing the whole prop shaft. Any thoughts / ideas?
Thanks.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Don't mean to rain on your parade, but it looks like your engine is in need of a considerable re-alignment. From way over here, it looks like the engine should be shoved over to port by a considerable distance and rotated a few degrees CC. Of course you won't be able to tell this until the coupling flange is separated.

I can only speak for myself, but if that were mine, I would get the boat out of the water and start in on installing a proper gland plus doing an engine alignment. You say you're experiencing a lot of leakage now and this will only get worse. Depending on your bilge pump, you could be in for a nasty surprise one day this summer. On the other hand, I was wrong about your older boat having a bronze gland and not a plastic one . Who ya gonna trust ? ? ?

You should be able to find sufficient material in the archives to install a proper gland and align the engine.

 

[RichW9603]

Thanks Ralph. I went back and checked the stuffing box. It is now back to "only" dripping one drop every 5 seconds. I wonder if I shouldn't try to replace the packing first and see if that helps. It looks like the black rubber tube (is there an official name for that?) seems to angle off towards the end a couple millimeters.
I do want to have the boat pulled and have the stuffing box replaced with a high quality one so I don't have to worry about this any more, but the lake I am on has very limited boat servicing capability.
Thanks,
'Dubs

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I wonder if I shouldn't try to replace the packing first and see if that helps.

The only down side I can see to trying a re-pack in the water, is that with the gland being in poor shape to start, you may not be able to re-pack it properly and wind up with a really bad leak (flow). You may have problems getting the packing around that off centre shaft. You're now scrambling to figure out how to stop the flow or risk the inevitable.

Ain't boats fun ? ? ? ? ? ?

 

[RichW9603]

Thanks Ralph. Does anyone know if the stuffing box can be replaced entirely without having to fully remove the shaft or move the engine (assuming the boat is out of the water, of course)? I've read forum posts where the rudder has to be removed in order to remove the shaft, and I hope that's not the case to just change the stuffing box.

 

[Rich Stidger]

I doubt that the entire stuffing box can be replaced in the water because at a minimum you need to remove the flange on the shaft. And I think fitting a new flange properly involves lapping the flange to the shaft.

Changing the packing is another story. I just changed my packing in the water for the first time. Every other time I was on the hard. I brought plumbers putty to pack around the opening but I found that I only had a pencil-sized stream coming in and that was only when I pushed on the shaft to one side. So I never used the putty. When at rest, the dribble was much less. Short story, it was not scary in the least. The biggest problem was getting out the old packing (after loosening the lock nut, that is another issue). Forget the T-handled flexible shaft corkscrew tool- I have now broken two of them. Dental-type picks may work if they are quality tools, but mine simply straightened out. What worked for me was a small (5") pair of forceps that have a hook lock by the finger loops. I bought this at Harbor Freight along with a 12" one. I was able to reach into the packing gland and start ripping out small pieces of the packing. The pieces got larger and finally an end came out. Needle-nose pliers finished the job. I took out 4 wraps from my gland but replaced with just three. The other tool that helped was a Craftsman cotter pin removal tool. This tool is one of the most useful items I have. It has a 90 degree end with a point that can dig, pry, and otherwise get at stuff. After all the packing was out I used my pick to run in the threads inside of the gland to clean out all the small debris. Wire brush the outside threads and I coated everything with SuperLube waterproof grease. The gland and lock nut now spun on completely and easily by hand. Cut the new packing with a new sharp single-edge blade. I numbered every other flat on the gland with 1-2-3 and inserted each ring with the cut at a number. Three pieces at 120 degrees offset. Tightened snug until the drips stopped at rest. Will now need to check the adjustment running and then at rest again.

 

[RSHunter27]

Re-packing in the water can be a relaxed job if you are set up to seal off the bottom of the gland while you are pulling out the old packing from the gland nut.

Hey there Ralph. Hope all is well with you. Guess what I'm doing today? I'm doing my stuffing box and such. Just popping in to see if I could find any additional genius. I'll let you know how it goes. Doing it in the water of course.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

All I would emphasize is to refer back to post #4 using greasy cotton string to help stop the flow of water while dealing with the packing. That opening can pass a lot of water if you don't try to slow the flow of water. Having someone else across the shaft from you to help will add a degree of confidence to the work. Wives are not recommended unless they are mechanics.

 

[Jim Legere]

[...] Wives are not recommended unless they are mechanics.

Funniest thing I've read all week!

Word to the wise: never shout at the mechanic's helper.

 

[RSHunter27]

All I would emphasize is to refer back to post #4 using greasy cotton string to help stop the flow of water while dealing with the packing. That opening can pass a lot of water if you don't try to slow the flow of water. Having someone else across the shaft from you to help will add a degree of confidence to the work. Wives are not recommended unless they are mechanics.

Well Ralph I barely fit in my engine compartment. I doubt that anyone could fit in there with me. In any event, I like to do the things the hard way and learn through the School of hard knocks. Did I forget to say lol? Anyway halcyon is coming along inch by inch. Anyway y'all have fun and we'll chat again sometime.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Well Ralph I barely fit in my engine compartment. I doubt that anyone could fit in there with me.

Sorry, I hadn't realized that. I gripe and groan about the lack of space when I'm checking the shaft alignment or touching up the gland but maybe I better learn to keep my mouth shut.

The hoses also come out when I work in there.

If you do nothing else, be sure to mount a little, cheap, plastic cleat where you can tie off your greased string as shown in post #4. You will be so thankful you did.

 

[RSHunter27]

Well boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and lasses, children of all ages... And any other sentient beings that I may have left out, it is the end of an inning. Three up and three down. And not a drip since I buttoned it up.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

The whole gland assembly is a thing of beauty. A sight to behold. I forgot you're on a lake. If you were in salt water you'd have spent the first month undoing the lock nut.

Any particular reason you disconnected the transmission/prop shaft coupling to do the job ?

 

[RSHunter27]

Sorry, I hadn't realized that. I gripe and groan about the lack of space when I'm checking the shaft alignment or touching up the gland but maybe I better learn to keep my mouth shut.

View attachment 218229

The hoses also come out when I work in there.

If you do nothing else, be sure to mount a little, cheap, plastic cleat where you can tie off your greased string as shown in post #4. You will be so thankful you did.

No worries Ralph. It really has nothing to do with me. It's the space itself. I'm about 6'2 140 lbs. wet. Didn't use any string. Just cut my strips ahead of time

Sorry, I hadn't realized that. I gripe and groan about the lack of space when I'm checking the shaft alignment or touching up the gland but maybe I better learn to keep my mouth shut.

View attachment 218229

The hoses also come out when I work in there.

If you do nothing else, be sure to mount a little, cheap, plastic cleat where you can tie off your greased string as shown in post #4. You will be so thankful you did.

No worries Ralph it has nothing to do with me necessarily, I'm about 6'2 and 140 lb when wet. It has everything to do with the cramped space for the motor. But I made it easy. I took that SOB out. Of course I was in the process of repowering anyway. In any event, it went as well as I could have expected.

 

[RSHunter27]

The whole gland assembly is a thing of beauty. A sight to behold. I forgot you're on a lake. If you were in salt water you'd have spent the first month undoing the lock nut.

Any particular reason you disconnected the transmission/prop shaft coupling to do the job ?

Don't know if you recall Ralph, but this is the first time for me at lake sailing. Prior to buying Halcyon all my sailing was salty.

 

[RSHunter27]

The whole gland assembly is a thing of beauty. A sight to behold. I forgot you're on a lake. If you were in salt water you'd have spent the first month undoing the lock nut.

Any particular reason you disconnected the transmission/prop shaft coupling to do the job ?

By the way I started hitting it with PB blaster 2 weeks ago.