Rudder Stuffing Box

[Ellis14376]

I have a 1981 S2 8.5A. While crawling behind the fuel tank to inspect the helm cables, I noticed two of the four bolts securing the rudder shaft stuffing box to the hull were badly corroded. It appears they are carbon steel fasteners. The other two fasterners are bronze and in great shape. Replacing these fasteners will be tough. I'll likely have to drill them out, tap new threads, and install bronze or stainless fasteners. It's tough enough just to get a look at these fasteners, actually working on them will be a real challenge.

Has anyone had experience with this? Any tips?

 

[BobM]

No, but I have to do mine too on my 9.2A, so please keep us posted on how you make out. I have only glanced at mine, but it looked like they would just back out. I'd suggest hitting them with some PB blaster and letting them soak. They may yet back out. That stuff is pretty amazing...but rough on paint.

 

[Calypso]

I found stuff called aero kroil for removing rusted fasteners. Spray it and let it sit a few days or more. It's used in heavy industry.

 

[Wanderer1]

Stuffing Box

I Have A S2 9.2a. Last Year When We Put The Boat In The Water The Stuffing Bearing Block Leaked So I Epoxyed It And Got By For The Year. This Year I Remover The 4 Bolts For The Stuffing Box. And Found They Were Rusted. I Showed Them The Service Manger At Irish Boat Shop And He Told Me By The Looks Of The Bolts The Bearing Block May Be Rotting. I Droped The Rudder Shaft And Cut The Bearing Block Out And Found The Block Rotten. I Laminated 5 Pices Of 1/2 Treated Plywood Together With West Systems Epoxey. Drilled A 1-7/8 Hole In The Block And Epoxey The Inside Of The Hole So Water Could Not Get Into The Wood. I Used A Band Saw To Cut The Block To Fit The Bottom Of The Boat, Then Epoxyed The Block In Place. Next Weekend I Will Fiber Glass The Block In Like It Was When It Was Made. It Was Hard To Get The Block Cut And To Fit The Bottom Of The Boat.

 

[Bob McKee]

I found stuff called aero kroil for removing rusted fasteners. Spray it and let it sit a few days or more. It's used in heavy industry.

Aero Kroil is the closest thing to magic for loosening anything rusted. It's more expensive than products like WD40, but it works. I get it at Tacoma Screw Products in Seattle.

 

[BobM]

Comments

I Have A S2 9.2a. Last Year When We Put The Boat In The Water The Stuffing Bearing Block Leaked So I Epoxyed It And Got By For The Year. This Year I Remover The 4 Bolts For The Stuffing Box. And Found They Were Rusted. I Showed Them The Service Manger At Irish Boat Shop And He Told Me By The Looks Of The Bolts The Bearing Block May Be Rotting. I Droped The Rudder Shaft And Cut The Bearing Block Out And Found The Block Rotten. I Laminated 5 Pices Of 1/2 Treated Plywood Together With West Systems Epoxey. Drilled A 1-7/8 Hole In The Block And Epoxey The Inside Of The Hole So Water Could Not Get Into The Wood. I Used A Band Saw To Cut The Block To Fit The Bottom Of The Boat, Then Epoxyed The Block In Place. Next Weekend I Will Fiber Glass The Block In Like It Was When It Was Made. It Was Hard To Get The Block Cut And To Fit The Bottom Of The Boat.

Sounds like you did the job right. Any tips on how to avoid issues that you ran into that made the job harder? Was is simple enough to drop the rudder? Sounds like your block was unusable as a template for the new one, either that or the surface is just so complex in that part of the hull that you almost had to whittle it to make it fit properly.

Thanks,

Bob

 

[Wanderer 1]

Re: Comments

The Rudder Dropped Down Ok But The Shaft Is Long And I Have Not Taken It Out All The Way. I Will Have To Dig A 18 To 24 In Hole To Get It Out All The Way. When I Was Putting The New Block In I Used Car Wax On The Rudder Shaft, And Was Carful Not To Get To Much Epoxy In On The Area. I Used 3 Coats Of Car Wax On The Rudder Bearing Also. I Put The Rudder Bearing In The Block And Insealled The Rudder Shaft Back Up Into Position, Then Lifted The Block Up About 3 In. And Epoxyed The Block In, Then Pulled The Bearing Block Back Out About 1 To 1 1/2 In So The Epoxy Would Not Stick To The Bearing, But The Bearing Was Still Into The Bottom Of The Boat So Every Thing Would Be Lined Up.
Good Luck; DION