Shaft packing life expectancy?

[rpell1@msn.com]

Hi all,
Having owned 2 Cat30's over the past 15 years, I have always been meticulous when it comes to regular maintenance. I average 50 hours per year on my engines and religiously change fluids and filters every year.
My question is, how long does teflon coated shaft packing last? I have been changing it every 3 to 4 years, which translates to every 75 to 100 hours of use.

Thanks to all in advance and Happy Sailing.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Teflon flax doesn’t fail catastrophically. When it starts to leak excessively, it’s time to either tighten or replace.

 

[dlochner]

Teflon flax doesn’t fail catastrophically. When it starts to leak excessively, it’s time to either tighten or replace.

And when tightening the packing nut doesn't stop the drip, it is time to replace the packing. The other time is if for some reason the shaft is removed.

 

[MitchM]

on my nauticat 321 the manufacturer's chief engineer said the old fashioned flax packing should be completely replaced at 10,000 engine hours and periodically greased and adjusted.

 

[CarlN]

Do be a bit careful with teflon packing to be sure it drips to avoid crevice corrosion or overheating of the shaft. I'm using the same old fashioned flax packing that the builder installed seven years and 2300 hours ago when the boat was new. I've tightened it a few times but there are still many threads left on the stuffing box to tighten further.

See MainSail's excellent discussion of different packing materials. Re-Packing A Traditional Stuffing Box - Marine How To

 

[rpell1@msn.com]

Thank you all for the information. So, the consensus is to leave it be until it needs to be replaced and for me, it could be years from now. Happy Sailing.