We were just visiting our 306 to get it ready for launching, and I messed around with the packing nut on the stuffing box to tighten it up and reduce the drip. (Last time it was in the water, it was dripping at about 1 drip every 5-10 seconds with the engine stopped. Which I understand to be excessive.) Anyway, first I unscrewed the packing nut all the way, and it looked pretty simple it me, just as long as I'm really seeing what I think I'm seeing. So here are the (perhaps fairly dumb) questions: 1) When I backed the packing nut all the way off, it looks like the packing is up inside the cup of the packing nut. Is this right? I sort of expected the packing to be inside the stuffing box (given the name), but it looked pretty clear to me that this was not the case. 2) I then tightened the packing nut down by hand until it contacted the lock nut. At this point, I could still turn the prop shaft easily by hand (and the packing was no tighter than it had been before, which was the point), so I backed off the lock nut and tightened the packing nut quite a bit more by hand. Now the shaft could still be turned by hand, but with a bit more difficulty. I attempted to tighten the 2 nuts together with a wrench. Does this sound like a reasonable procedure? We were told to tighten the packing nut until the shaft was under some resistance, but could still be turned by hand. 3) I read in the archives about Hunters with a plastic stuffing box on some boats. On our boat, the packing nut, lock nut, and stuffing box look to be bronze, but there is this 1 3/4" bit of rubber hose linking the stuffing box to the stern bearing. Is this what people are referring to as a "plastic stuffing box", or do they really mean that the housing the packing nut screws on to is made of plastic on some boats? Thanks for your input! Jay
- Status
Stuffing Box
I'll start by saying that I removed my stuffing box in favor of a PYI dripless shaft seal. The packing is installed in the box (plastic or bronze)in 2 complete rings seperated by a washer. The second ring (that faces the nut)has a washer between the packing and the nut. The joining of each end of the packing strips should be set 180* apart. Be very careful not to overtighten the adjusting nut. This should only be done in the water. Overtightening will burn the packing and lead to a major leak.
I'll start by saying that I removed my stuffing box in favor of a PYI dripless shaft seal. The packing is installed in the box (plastic or bronze)in 2 complete rings seperated by a washer. The second ring (that faces the nut)has a washer between the packing and the nut. The joining of each end of the packing strips should be set 180* apart. Be very careful not to overtighten the adjusting nut. This should only be done in the water. Overtightening will burn the packing and lead to a major leak.
Teflon Flax Packing
From your description, it sounds like you will probably obtain the results should you need. OEM Stuffing Box on most Hunters was a Nylon Stuffing Box with (depending on size) two or three rings of flax packing and a nylon washer onto which the moveable cap portion tightens; then you 'lock ' the lock nut against the cap and secure with the cottter pin. With the bronze stuffing box the proceedure is the same except I don't have a washer; I use three 1/4" wide Teflon impregnated flax rings with staggered joints and Teflon lubricant; and use two wrenches to 'lock' the lock nut and cap after you have hand tightened them. The rubber hose you see connects the stuffing box to the shaft log where the shaft exits the hull. There should be two stainless steel hose clamps on each end of the shaft log. Engine position and engine alignment are used to insure that the shaft is centered in the shaft log and not contacting the sides. Shaft alignment is best checked in the water once the hull has 'relaxed' and should be checked if you are sensing undue vibration in the drive train.
From your description, it sounds like you will probably obtain the results should you need. OEM Stuffing Box on most Hunters was a Nylon Stuffing Box with (depending on size) two or three rings of flax packing and a nylon washer onto which the moveable cap portion tightens; then you 'lock ' the lock nut against the cap and secure with the cottter pin. With the bronze stuffing box the proceedure is the same except I don't have a washer; I use three 1/4" wide Teflon impregnated flax rings with staggered joints and Teflon lubricant; and use two wrenches to 'lock' the lock nut and cap after you have hand tightened them. The rubber hose you see connects the stuffing box to the shaft log where the shaft exits the hull. There should be two stainless steel hose clamps on each end of the shaft log. Engine position and engine alignment are used to insure that the shaft is centered in the shaft log and not contacting the sides. Shaft alignment is best checked in the water once the hull has 'relaxed' and should be checked if you are sensing undue vibration in the drive train.
Thanks...
I'm afraid it's still not all that clear, though. In our case, the packing definitely seemed to be inside the nut. When we replace it, do we put it up inside the nut, or wrap it around the shaft and let the nut compress it against the stuffing box. Anyone else, please?
I'm afraid it's still not all that clear, though. In our case, the packing definitely seemed to be inside the nut. When we replace it, do we put it up inside the nut, or wrap it around the shaft and let the nut compress it against the stuffing box. Anyone else, please?
- Status