Packing Gland Tighting

[Jeff Asbury]

This was a private message sent to me that I did not have the answer to. Please help.


Jeff,
I am about to haul my E27 ( #213 Holomoku in Honolulu)and hope to fix the chronic leak at my packing gland. I have lived with the leaking for a while but am taking this opportunity to fix the problem. I have been unable to replace the packing as the shaft log is so close to the pacing nut ,when loosened, that there is not enough space to remove the old packing.(after two hours laying on top of the engine etc etc....) I will be pulling the shaft so access should not be a problem. I am hoping to replace the existing unit with a PSS shaft seal if they make one for a 3/4 shaft.... Do you have any thoughts or suggestions regarding the process? What has been your experience?.... Aloha, Tom

Hi Tom,

To answer your question I had a Marine Mechanic friend help me with my tightening my packing gland. Number one is because I did not have the right tools, number two is because I lacked the experience. I am sure you are aware that it is supposed to leak a little. I am concerned that mine doesn't leak enough. I get salt crystals around mine and I speculate it is because the heat of the friction of the prop shaft is drying the salt water as it leaks out. I am not too concerned because there is always a small amount of water right under it. I am attaching both JPGs of the Packing Gland Adjustment guide from the Specs and Docs section from the EYO site. I will also post your question in the mechanical and maintenance section to see who else might have better advice. When I tried it my self I had the same problems as you. It is a very tight space to work in. You need a good pipe wrench and a large channel lock with short handles.

Jeff

 

[Emerald]

Hi,


Depending on the tools you have, you might want to hit the local hardware store's plumbing department and check out their adjustable wrenches that are shaped like the "packing gland wrenches" you may have seen. If you go to Home Depot's site, and browse through to the following location:


Home > Shop > Hand Tools > Plumbing Tools > Pipe Wrenches


and check the page for EZ-flow Adjustable Locknut Wrench Model 45111. Of note, the wrench I am pointing out here is for illustrating the shape and type of wrench I am talking about. I haven't seen this model specifically, but when looking at what was in stock at my local Home Depot, they had wrenches near identical to this. Also, I can't post a direct link, as the Home Depot website is doing fancy stuff with their links to tie it to my browser session.


Also, you might want to check out some of the dripless packing if you decide not to do a PSS. I used this on my E-27 with good results, and am getting ready to use it on my Independence 31. Here's a link to the product I bought from Defender for this:


http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|311|53222|292328&id=140696


Do note, this is being phased out and replaced with a more expensive version:


http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|311|53222|292328&id=569190


Hope this helps


-David
Independence 31
Emerald

 

[Art Mullinax]

Other alternatives

If you decide to replace the original packing, Check out the materials listed in a MSC or Grainger catalog under "compression packing" or just "packing". There are several alternatives to the original flax packing. I replaced the packing in my E29 with a teflon impregnated packing and it's worked fine for 14 yrs. Also check out the flexible shaft packing tools. It makes the job a lot easier and if you look at the picture, you may be able to fabricate one yourself. Remember to cut the ends at a 45 degree angle and not square. The 45 degree cut will allow the packing ends to overlap.
Art M.
71/E29

 

[Jeff Asbury]

if money's no object

Or if money's no object you can get one of these dripless units. Looks nice and clean. The other photo is a shot of a badly worn packing.

 

[Tom Prince]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The problem is not in tightening the packing nuts. I have the wrenches that do a great job. I am able to tighten but the leak resumes as soon as I have run the engine for a few minutes(spraying salt water all over the place). The PO had the packing replaced in 98 and it seems to have reached the end of its useful life. I am considering going with the PSS dripless unit shown in Jeff's picture. In the E-27 with an A4 there is very limited space to back off the packing nut to try and replace the packing in place (maybe1/2 inch before the nut hits the shaft log assembly) I just called PSS and they have a unit for $220. which sounds good to me. I want to go sailing!!

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Sorry Tom for the confusion.

Sorry Tom for the confusion. I have a little more room to work than you do because I have a little Yanmar 8 hp Diesel. I don't know what else to tell you. I think in your case it may be worth it to go with the PSS. Sounds like you need a whole new coupling anyway. The other packing products may work because they look more like a putty rather than a tube shaped gland. Let us know how it all works out with the PSS.

Beam Winds

 

[paul culver]

I just had the packing gland replaced with a PSS while my E29 was hauled out for bottom painting. The shaft is 3/4 inches, so they are available. The PSS part of the job came to $618 material and labor. My mechanic also had me make some length measurements in the installation space to make sure there was enough room for the PSS. I'm looking forward to having the icebox drain as the only intended source of water in the bilge.

 

[NateHanson]

Ugg. I hate ice-box water in the bilge! Put a small stopcock on the bottom of that line, and drain it into a bucket occasionally, to keep that potentially smelly water out of the bilge!

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Nice product!

Nice product!

Stuffing box wrenches! Very Pricey though. See the link.

http://www.mahallmarketing.com/adjust_eze.html

 

[stbdtack]

dripless

I've used the dripless packing David mentioned above on both my boats with good success.
If you dont have enough room to get at the packing material you prob dont have the room for a PSS, there is space needed for the bellows.
They are great when they are installed but always wondered what you would do if the bellows failed??

 

[Art Mullinax]

PSS is beautiful

My wife wanted to thank you fellows for adding to my "hold my breath til I get it list".
Art M,
71/E29

 

[jmoses]

Dripless glands

As for adusting a packing gland, I tightened it until dripping at the dock. Then I would run the engine and adjust it with the shaft spinning to get the correct flow (BE CAREFUL!!!). Then when underway, check the nut to see if it's getting hot. It should only be warm to the touch. By no means should it be hot or boil water when dripped on it. Keep in mind, your shaft may be scored by packing that was too tight in the past. Old shafts required repalcement now and then.

As for a PSS gland, keep in mind that if your shaft is damaged in anyway (e.g. gouges, burrs, scoring, wrench marks, etc.), then most likely you'll need to replace the shaft if installing the unit. Why? The PSS unit seals to the shaft via O-rings and they will be destroyed by sliding them over the damaged shaft (and don't grease the shaft to get the seals on! see below)

The E-35 MKII has very little space to work with in the packing gland area, but I was able to squeeze in a PSS unit with about an inch or two to spare (I also have a drive saver donought installed).

I tallied up 200.00 for the PSS unit and 200.00 for a new 3/4" shaft and coupling machining (to square up the new shaft to the coupling). The work completed by me at a savings of 90.00 an hour (figure on three hours or so).

NOTE: Be sure to install a hose clamp or a small shaft zinc on the shaft in front of the rotating face seal to keep it from working loose and backing off the stationary carbon seal (and sinking your boat!). A loose face seal will decompress the bellows and allow it to expand open. Nor should any oil or petroleum products come into contact with the unit as they will destroy the bellows and O-ring seals.

As for the bellows, I believe PYI recommends changing it every 5 years...but not absolutely certain (maybe 10....directions are on the boat)

See: http://www.pyiinc.com/

John M.

 

[rotorhead]

Packing gland Nut size

Does anybody knows the size of the wrench needed to adjust the stuffing box of a PS E380..???