Stuffing box

[Torsson]

On my Carver 28 (1988), 2 x 5.7L 350 Crusaders i want to replace the packing or the stuffing boxe's.

After winter when i put the boat in the water the stuffing boxe's leak as fu*k but after i start the engines and put in gear it just droppes like a drop every 5 seconds and in the end of the season it has stopped leaking. But this year one of the prop shafts leaked alot after that and i bought some tools to be able to tighten the packing nut and got the leak to almost stop. But i am lucky this was under the kitchen and not under the bathroom becaus i can't even realize how to get to that one. So in winter i will try to replace the packing material or replace the stuffing boxe's with something different..

What do you guys/girls recommend?. I have 2 gas 350 v8 and pay Swedish gas prices so at this point i don't care about the price

And also if the 2 nuts and packing material is best does anyone have link to special tools that fit? becaus all my and the tools i can find here are to big to turn those nuts

[km1125]

I bought a couple of these wrenches (below) for working on the stuffing boxes. They work great. I also carried a couple pipes that fit over the handles that I could use for extra leverage. You can use regular pipe wrenches in a pinch, but the do mar up the nuts.

You can replace the stuffing boxes with "dripless shaft seals", but they are more expensive and do require a hose with some water in them to lubricate. Normally you can tap into your raw water path somewhere for this hose.

The old stuffing boxes are pretty reliable though, if you can tolerate that little 'drip, drip, drip' while it's running. When they are running they should be dripping every few/several seconds but when you stop the drips should be pretty rare but they'll still drip a little bit). You don't want to make them TOO tight because they will overheat with the lack of cooling water and they will also wear your shafts. They make several types of stuffing. The latest ones are impregnated with graphic fiber and are supposed to be much better than the old wax-embedded rope.

rigid_adj_wrench.jpg

[Torsson]

Source of the post I bought a couple of these wrenches (below) for working on the stuffing boxes. They work great. I also carried a couple pipes that fit over the handles that I could use for extra leverage. You can use regular pipe wrenches in a pinch, but the do mar up the nuts.

You can replace the stuffing boxes with "dripless shaft seals", but they are more expensive and do require a hose with some water in them to lubricate. Normally you can tap into your raw water path somewhere for this hose.

The old stuffing boxes are pretty reliable though, if you can tolerate that little 'drip, drip, drip' while it's running. When they are running they should be dripping every few/several seconds but when you stop the drips should be pretty rare but they'll still drip a little bit). You don't want to make them TOO tight because they will overheat with the lack of cooling water and they will also wear your shafts. They make several types of stuffing. The latest ones are impregnated with graphic fiber and are supposed to be much better than the old wax-embedded rope.

rigid_adj_wrench.jpg

I will take a look at those wrenches. yeah i got the locking nut loose and tighten the nut with the packing as much as i could with 2 hands. but i have seen some special "keys" for this kind of job on youtube. Maby it is best to just repack the nuts. it is at least 6-8 years since it was done as the previous owner never did it, at least what he told me.



This is the smallest thing that would get around the nut close to me as the water was pouring in . "American style pipe wrench"

[Viper]

It's normal for flax packing to leak for a while after a winter layup. It's also normal for this type of stuffing box to leak a bit in a static state and more so while underway. If it doesn't leak, it's too tight and will cause other issues as mentioned above.

one or two additional strands of packing rope may be all you need to do, or if it's still all original material, remove it all and install three new strands on each shaft. Easy to do if access isn't bad, and with a little preparation, can be done in the water.

The decision to go to a dripless system is a good consideration but the type of design you select; face seal or lip seal, must be considered carefully or they might leak anyway.

[throwback2]

On my 87 the bathroom floor lifts out.