Just put my boat in the water and noticed excessive leaking from the stuffing box. Couldn't break free the lock nut, I used pipe wrenches and muscle without any luck, are there any tricks to loosening them? Thanks
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They can be hard to turn and hard to get at
The main "trick" is to be sure to use two wrenches so you are loosening the lock nut from the main nut, rather than putting the strain on the nuts or tube the stuffing box is attached to. An electric heat gun on the nut might help. Red ATF is (I say) as good as any other penetrationg oil. Try a few drops of ATF and the heat gun. I have also found that threats and strong language assist in these situations.
The main "trick" is to be sure to use two wrenches so you are loosening the lock nut from the main nut, rather than putting the strain on the nuts or tube the stuffing box is attached to. An electric heat gun on the nut might help. Red ATF is (I say) as good as any other penetrationg oil. Try a few drops of ATF and the heat gun. I have also found that threats and strong language assist in these situations.
Coat the bolts with PB Blaster or equivalent
and let it do it's thing for a few hours and try to tighten the stuffing box a tiny bit first. If more water comes in or there are scraping sounds or vibrations coming from the engine/stuffing box area then you really need to re-pack your stuffing box soon before the bilge pump gets overwhelmed and batteries fail. The link below is for the packing material that has worked well for me 3 years so far and has required little or no tightening since I replaced it. Keep in mind that this is only normal maintenance of a sailboat with an inboard motor boat similar propulsion so dont panic. Just figure out what you need to fix and make the repairs yourself. You will learn a lot in the process as well. Fair winds. CalebD
and let it do it's thing for a few hours and try to tighten the stuffing box a tiny bit first. If more water comes in or there are scraping sounds or vibrations coming from the engine/stuffing box area then you really need to re-pack your stuffing box soon before the bilge pump gets overwhelmed and batteries fail. The link below is for the packing material that has worked well for me 3 years so far and has required little or no tightening since I replaced it. Keep in mind that this is only normal maintenance of a sailboat with an inboard motor boat similar propulsion so dont panic. Just figure out what you need to fix and make the repairs yourself. You will learn a lot in the process as well. Fair winds. CalebD
Brian D, that was a great find.....
you can read about doing this stuff, but those pictures from Lancer really puts everything together. I now feel comfortable re stuffing next time i need to. abe
you can read about doing this stuff, but those pictures from Lancer really puts everything together. I now feel comfortable re stuffing next time i need to. abe
Here is a trick...
to loosen a frozen stuffing box when all the other stuff has failed: whack the lock nut on a flat with a ball peen hammer (in the direction you want it to move). You will not crack it or the shaft log. This will break the crud free. The first couple of times I did this it was on someone else's boat and I feared doing damage. Worked like a charm. If you try this method, post a follow-up as to the results.
to loosen a frozen stuffing box when all the other stuff has failed: whack the lock nut on a flat with a ball peen hammer (in the direction you want it to move). You will not crack it or the shaft log. This will break the crud free. The first couple of times I did this it was on someone else's boat and I feared doing damage. Worked like a charm. If you try this method, post a follow-up as to the results.
And when you're ready to put it back
slather the lock nut facing with the box with Lanocote and you shouldn't have the problem ever asgain. Do the threads, too.
slather the lock nut facing with the box with Lanocote and you shouldn't have the problem ever asgain. Do the threads, too.
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