Leaky stern gland - advice sought

Thanks to each of you for your replies:

prv: I'm unsure how the rotation happened, although on our last trip there were two loud noises that sounded like a slipping fan belt. With hindsight we reckon that those noises must have been the tube rubbing on the shaft (you can see the worn tube in picture 2 above). Can't comment on the lugs, as I haven't seen inside. Sounds like I might have to consider dismantling the component parts for a look. Before I do that however, I think I'm going to make further enquiries to see if I can identify the make and model of gland ...and access technical info.

Tranona: The clamps were loosened and tightened again on Thursday as part of the process to find a short-term fix. I should now double-check that these are tight and don't just appear to be tight (given your experience). It sounds as though these clamps being loose may well have been part of the problem - allowing the rotation to happen. That said, I have to keep exploring the root cause of the problem to ensure that I cover off all the bases.

ianat182: Unfortunately I'm not mechanically minded. As such I don't know how my stern gland works ...and if I'm totally honest I haven't managed to get my head round your observation about the seal being squeezed at one end and protuding at the other. So I'll have to do some further work on this in order to take on board your comment. I agree that I don't think there is an outlet pipe for the water ...and at this stage I'm unsure where the water is supposed to go (although some of it at least appears to be going into the bilge in the form of my unwanted drip).

Thanks again to each of you for your input! : )
 
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I think that you may have a gland used or produced by Albin if so it is a brass sleeve with an oil seal at either end and white metal renewable bushes
The connection that the water bleed is fitted to was originally a grease nipple boss and had a plug which could be removed for maintenance.
The gland was filled with oil or grease.
 
I have looked into Yodave's seal previously and show it on my website in the sternglands section. The strongest likelihood is that it's a Vetus one, in which case the tube is a water supply. It seems to be a version of this one although not identical. I don't think there are any dogs, as the friction of this type is far lower than it is with a packed gland.
 
prv said:
OK, so just a loose jubilee clip on the main rubber hose then?

No other way it could revolve, really.

Pete
Click to expand...

Yes, I suspect that's it. The only other possibility, since we don't actually know what is inside, is that there is a bearing of some sort that might have partially seized to the shaft. The Vetus description talks about 'silicone grease packed' but I can't see how that would be done.

In all the lip seal and face seal types I've been looking at for the website I have yet to come across one that has dogs. Seems to be exclusively a packed gland requirement.
 
Pretty sure it is not a Vetus seal. There is a very good cutaway on page 40 of the catalogue. The Ops seal does not have the same shape housing, nor the screw on the top - which i think is used for access to squirt the silicone greas in to lubricate the two seals inside the housing.
 
The Vetus suggestion is fairly circumstantial! The boat was bought in Holland and the engine is a Mitsubishi, a design that is marinised by Vetus. There are similarities in the overall seal design to both the Vetus and Albin but it is not exactly the same as either. So my guess was that maybe it's an older Vetus one.
 
Hello. Thanks very much once again to contributing forum members.

scottie: I'm not very knowledgeable about stern glands, but I'll try to explore 'Albin' glands. As vyv_cox rightly stated, he previously suggested that the manufacturer might well be Vetus - however I've yet to confirm this.

vyv_cox: This thread sparked back into life when my seal spectacularly failed (a week ago). In essence, now that the emergency has been dealt with, I'm trying to ensure that I also deal with the cause of the emergency before it happens again. I should clarify that the engine is a Lombardini 30hp. For what it's worth, I have a hunch that the seal would probably have been replaced when the new engine was installed back in 2006.

prv: I have my fingers crossed that's the case!

Tranona: I'm trying to go back through the Dutch broker, to the previous owner to verify the stern gland make and model. The suggestions of Vetus and Albin are both useful, but until I nail it down, I'm not likely to be able to source any techincal guide/aid ...which would be v useful to study before I start pulling the unit apart.

Thanks again : )
 
Looking again at your photographs,there is a loose pipe end witha brass fitting at the rear of the stern gland;where does this come from and why is it disconnected in all three photos. It looks like a greaser tube which some of us have on our stern glands with packing inside. Picture 2 seems to explain the tube twisting by the loosened front jubilee circlips. Wonder what the large bang you heard was if the engine and boat not moving.
Looking closer at photo 3 I may be mistaken about the front seal protruding, it looks like a darker shadow when magnified.

ianat182
 
I have just heard back from the previous owner (first language = Dutch). Key info he gave me includes:

"We made water when we used the motor. Back home I asked the shipyard how that was possible, because every thing is new. It seems that the propeller shaft has at the end a part that you have to turn a bit once and a while, which I did not know. That would solf the problem."
(This appears to be in connection with the dripping problem).

As for the stern gland make, the information he source from the previous owner's 'shipyard' is:

  • "It is an Allpa, 30 mm shaft"
  • "The rings needed once and a while to been taken away for a check and to been greased when the boat is out of the water".
  • "The motor needed maybe to be adjust so that he less vibrates".
So far I have found the following online: http://www.allpa.nl/showsite.asp?map_id=8026

ianat182: Well-spotted - I noticed the loose pipe last week. I'm not sure what it's for or where it comes from. It looks a bit older, and (perhaps wrongly) I put it to the back of my mind reckoning that it might have been some sort of legacy from the previous stern gland.

Unsure what the loud bang was. It was loud enough to waken me up ...and frankly if it hadn't woken me up, we would have lost the boat. It remains unexplained.

vyv_cox: Absolutely no need to apologise ...I really appreciate your help and advice and hope that my clarification didn't read badly.

Thanks again to you both!
 
From the looks of the unit in the catalogue, the seals in the bronze casing are replaceable. It says the unit comes with spare seals and the owner said he has replaced them. Interesting the owner's comment that maybe the engine mounts need looking at. The prop shaft does look rather long to be unsupported and maybe engine movement is wearing the seals.
 
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