Leaking stuffing box. Getting worse??

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pcatterall

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Begining to think that my mystery flooding was the stuffing box. For years I've just given it the odd couple of twists on the grease 'pump' and forgotten about it. Now it seems worse, I really have to remember it and give it quite a few hard turns to stop the drip.
It seems to be getting worse and the question is what do i have to do about it? The box is hidden under the fuel tank ( I need a torch and mirror to see the drip) Has it really got to come out or can I just continue but with more caution?
Any good write ups on this subject anywhere?
Thanks guys.
 
Not sure if this is really what you are looking for, but here is an interesting website which shows how to repack a stuffing box.
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I will be along soon to advise on how long you've got until you need to do this
 
Thanks for that site, interesting read. But am I telling porkies and getting confused, I have to force grease into my seal and the stuffing box shown is just tightened against the wadding. Am I using the wrong term??
Is someone going to chastise me ?? Thats fine 'cos I know you pass on some wisdom as well!!
 
I think the grease helps to lubricate and seal everything........you might only need to adjust (tighten) your stuffing box a little.
 
The basic principle of a stuffing box is that you wrap wadding around the shaft & lubricate it with grease. You need to add a little grease from time to time - which is what you have been doing. But you also need to tighten the wadding occasionally by screwing the end cup a little further home as well. Finally, at a somewhat longer interval it will be necessary to replace the wadding completely.

My guess is that you need to screw up the end cap a turn or two now to compress the wadding a little more. Then you will get away with the occasional pump of grease again - until then next time (possibly a year or so?)
 
But the gland, stuffing box or what ever should be tightened while the shaft is turning until there is just an occasional drip, which is necessary to lubricate and cool it. A liitle grease, just turn the greaser until it feels firm, will stop the drip when leaving the boat.
 
I have read many threads about this subject, but on my Halmatic the stern tube area is invisible without taking up the cockpit floor hatch, and then doing some contortions while holding a torch /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Not something easily done whilst underway. I suppose I could run the engine in gear whilst alongside, but it is still quite a performance. AFAIK there is no leakage from the stern gland, but it appears hat there should be. Ought I to worry, or just carry on giving the greaser a half turn when I leave the boat>?
 
This may seem a silly question, but do you have grease in the greaser ? I remember a power boat some years ago whos new owner regularly put half a turn on. Unfortunatly the previous owner had not filled the greaser, we found the boat just as the water level reached the top of the engines.

j
 
This is an excellent site too - plenty more on it than the packing gland article. diybob

Anyway, I got to hate mine old greaser gland - lots of greasy water every outing - bucket fulls after a trip. Finally bit the bullet last winter and took it out and installed a dripless Tides Marine seal. (I would have used a Volvo seal if it would have fitted). Money and effort well spent - no more drips, no more turning the greaser, no more pumping out /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
You do not have to think too long as you have two options.

A) As already said check that the grease is actualy getting into the stuffing block.
B) You have to get the boat out to re-new the stuffing gland stuffing..

But a few things to remember!
1) get the old stuffing out 100%, sometimes you may think it's out but there is still some left.
2)IF possible try and count how many rings you take out (not always easy).
3) Keep a bit of the old stuffing ring as the first thing the chandler will ask you is what size do you want!.
4)Read the instruction before fitting ie: cut it at 45 Degrees and offset cuts when fitting.
5)when fitting new 'stuffing rings' get as many on 'as possible', I always fit say 3 or 4 tighten then refit and tighten the screw, disconnect again then you will fined you can get more rings in in.
5) Get clear plastic tubing from your greaser to the box so you can 'see the grease going down'.
6) run engine check stuffing box tempreture and shaft, it will get hot, if dripping tighten main box screw, if too hot very slightly turn screw back a touch.
7)Re-check stern tube for a few trips for leaks and tempreture.

Easy in it! Good luck!
 
Thanks guys, lots of good info and advice as always. Thanks Moody Sabre for the link which was helpful.
I have a problem with the diagrams in both links as they dont show or refer to the greaser. I thought that this pumped grease into the gland ?? My main problem is going to be getting at this lot, one ray of hope is that my torch and mirror showed some kind of box with two hexagonal 'bolt heads' sticking out, possibly clutching at straws here but suspect that they may be used to tighten the gland and suggesting that my box is not what the diagram refers to as the 'old type' ( but the boat is 1974 !!)
After running for some hours the drip rate was 2 drips per second, on tightening the greaser this becomes one drip per 5 seconds how does this sound??
Thanks again guys.
Ps Yes I do fill the greaser !!
 
[ QUOTE ]
some kind of box with two hexagonal 'bolt heads'

[/ QUOTE ] As shown in figure 5 in moodysabre's link! The type found typically on pumps and larger valves throughout industry. Important that the gland follower is kept square to the shaft. ie tighten down on both nuts evenly.

On the subject of grease:
What sort of grease do people use?

That popular Duckhams Keenol (NLA I know) always seemed a bit on the light side whereas Castrol Heavy for example seems rather too heavy.
 
Hmmm. I really hate my stuffing box. It leaks terribly. While the boat was on the hard last year, I considered replacing it with a non-drip one but then realised that to do so I would have to remove the shaft but couldn't remove the shaft because the rudder gets in the way and uh, well, it's a concrete boat and that rudder isn't going to be very easy to remove, or put back. The alternative would be to move the engine forward - no mean feat.
It's my dream to have a non-drip stuffing box. When I return to Mexico, I'm going to look into this further.

All the above is irrelevant to what I wanted to say, which is, thanks for the useful links.
 
I used to use Morris waterproof grease. Worked fine on a previous boat.

On the subject of drip rate - 1 every 5 secs doesn't seem too bad whilst motoring but greasing when you have stopped should stop it completely.

On filling the greaser - the barrel should be removed (they are threaded top and bottom), the handle unwound and the barrel filled from the bottom so that you are just pumping air into the stern gland. Sorry if you knew that.
 
I use a cartridge grease gun mounted up the front of the engine bearer with about 8 feet of 10 mm clear plastic tube to the stern gland. Its near the battery switches so the occasional grease is not a problem. I just use what ever automotive grease that comes in a cartridge, usually wheel bearing stuff for boat trailers.
 
If I remember it's a half turn before I start the engine and another half turn when I moor up again. Sometimes it gets a half turn at other odd times if I'm doing any sort of routine maintenance or checking. Mine rarely drips, running or not, and doesn't seem to get more than warm ( ie I can keep my hand on it when running). Nice and simple, easy to maintain - I wouldn't change it for any of the fancy expensive types.
 
Type of grease to use. I always bought heavy trucking grease, the sort that is used for artic turntables and couplings. Cheap and plentiful. I ran out one time and needed to buy a tin and went to a swindlers. The guy was adamant that his trailer bearing, stern seal grease was much better and I would find less sprayed around the bilges. He was right. It doesn't seem to fling of from the shaft like other greases and now I only use trailer bearing / sternseal grease.

Original post seal sounds like it needs a bit of tightening. As to a drip every 5 secs after grease ? I would like to see no drip after grease, but drip every few secs once engine shaft is run.
Sequence on my boat ? Get on board and before starting engine - 1 turn on greaser. Start engine and depart. Arrive destination or once every 24hrs another turn on greaser. Simple routine and soon becomes automatic.
 
A tip on cutting the packing at 45 degrees etc - the normal recommendation is to wind it around the shaft then cut to form the rings. Unless you have good access this is a bloomin awkward exercise; so measure the shaft diameter accurately then source a short length of steel tube / rod of the same diameter and make the rings before descending into the cramped space where the stuffing box resides.
 
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