Stuffing Box Leak

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Tom

The stuffing box (if that's what it is called - where the prop shaft passes through the hull) has started to leak. It's moved from an occasional drip to a slight trickle. There is what looks like a big bolt where it is leaking. Is the repair as simple as tightening this bolt a little until the trickle goes back to an occasional drip? Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
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ed

Yes that is possibly correct. If you still have enough shaft packing around the shaft in the housing, you should be able to tightin it down enough to stop the leak. You want it to drip about one drop every half minuet while in gear, and to not drip when it it in neutral. It this doesn't work, you will have to repack the stuffing box with new material. There are several articles in boating books and magazines on how to do this. Good luck.
 
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John

did mine lastweek

My packing nut was leaking bad .but my pump would only turn on once a week .Catalina said that 10 to 15 drips a min was good they dont say anty thing about the moter runing .I did mine moter off .It driped the same runing or not . mine drips about 12 times a min it is not much water at all.pump has not turned on in to weeks
 
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Jeff Walker

May be a little tight

Hi Tom, See if you can back the large nut towards the transmission couple away from the small lock nut. That should allow you to turn the lock nut about 1/2 turn towards the prop. Tighten the large nut and check the drip rate to get your 1 drip/minute or less. Play with the adjustment until the drip stops AND the shaft still turns with very little friction. Run the engine in gear and check the drip rate and heat build-up on the packing nut. Heat means too much friction which the engine has to overcome. Good luck, Jeff
 
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Tom

Thanks very much for your insights.

Thanks very much for your insights. Tom
 
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Mike Collier

Fixed same problem last weekend

I recently discovered same problem on my C-30 -- a drip (2x per second)from packing gland. Following the manual, I loosened the small locking nut using channel lock pliers. I then turned the larger packing nut about 1/8 turn (again using channel lock pliers although manual says use your fingers). Drip rate fell to about one every 5 seconds. Since drip is required to properly lubricate the drive shaft, I decided to let her drip at that rate (manual recommends 4 to 15 drops per minute if I recall correctly). I tightened the locking nut to finish the job. I've run her hard since adjusting and she's doing great. Nothing to it. Good luck.
 
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Rob R.

Drip Rate

Good advice so far, but my surveyor said the drip rate should be between 7 and 10 drips per minute. Remeber, water coming out of the shaft is good - it means that the prop shaft is getting the lube (water) it needs. Too little water is bad, as it results in friction - which can prematurely wear the packing tape, and hurt feul economy. Best of Luck, Rob
 
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