repack or go dripless?

[INTO WISHIN]

i'm new to inboards and shafts. i have vee drive trannys and both shafts look like in need of new packing. what are the pros and cons of each- new packing or dripless? and cost? diy? thanks, rune

 

[tomk]

On My 87 30 weekender I changed to dripless packings best thing that I did on the boat
made for A dry bilge realy not to hard to install and around 300 dollars A shaft,if you just want to repack the stuffing box there is some really good packing (GFO) http://www.gfopacking.com/
it was twenty five dollars for two foot all you is A packing removal tool or some dentist pics I hope this helped Tom

 

[Lady Ashley SR560]

Go dripless.. Also get spare seals and a carrier to put on the shaft. If one goes bad its easy to swap it out with no haul out. Cut the old bad one to remove it. open the carrier take a spare and slide it down the shaft into place.

 

[FastFred]

I used GFO with great results on my 340. I studied the various dripless designs noting each one seems to work well but if they fail they can become a real issue. I have read where several boats were almost to the point of sinking before they were hauled. One does offer a second seal but reciently a friend that switched out a bad seal with the spare found the new one lasted only 2 months before leaking. After all that he had to pull the boat and remove the shaft to repair the issues. I will stick to the old packing, at least if it leaks I tweak the nut and its good to go. The GFO on my setup does not leak at all and the bilge is dry. The packing temps are very cool and so far crusing to many ports I've yet to see any problem. I will add that I have straight shafts, V drives can be a pain to get into, maybe a dripless system would be of an advantage for you.

 

[INTO WISHIN]

Thanks for the tips. I will look into the gfo packing. Dripless might not be in the budget right now. Thanks, rune

 

[dpmulvey]

I have dripless and if I had my druthers did not have v-drives, I would rather have packing. Much easier and cheaper to deal with should something go wrong.

Lady Ashley. I have never heard of replacing a dripless without a haulout. Do you have pix?

 

[INTO WISHIN]

i had the packing changed yesterday. used the graphite. no more leaking shafts and constant bilge pump going on. it needed it. the old stuff looked crappy. thanks to all who helped on this. rune

 

[BOXERDOGTY]

i had the packing changed yesterday. used the graphite. no more leaking shafts and constant bilge pump going on. it needed it. the old stuff looked crappy. thanks to all who helped on this. rune

Wishin, glad it worked out. But....that brings up a question for me. My new to me 300 WE came with dripless. This is my first experience with inboard straight shafts. Each shaft had a spare as previously mentioned. Problem is, on the sea trial one blew out. Water spraying all over the bilge. It was a quick repair at the dock by the PO. That used the spare on my starboard shaft. If that side blows again, what is involved with replacing and adding another spare?
Thanks

 

[dwna1a]

Thank you TomK for posting the web site. Im having the same issue with my shafts and hate the standing water. I'm going down today to make another adjustment.

 

[fwebster]

Wishin, glad it worked out. But....that brings up a question for me. My new to me 300 WE came with dripless. This is my first experience with inboard straight shafts. Each shaft had a spare as previously mentioned. Problem is, on the sea trial one blew out. Water spraying all over the bilge. It was a quick repair at the dock by the PO. That used the spare on my starboard shaft. If that side blows again, what is involved with replacing and adding another spare?
Thanks

Haul the boat out of the water, remove the prop, un-couple the shaft from the transmission, pull the shaft back enough to get to the end, remove the old seal assembly, clean up any burrs on keyways, polish the seal running surface on the shaft, install the new seal, then put the boat back together and launch it. It is a 2 man job with proper tools (prop puller and a slide hammer with threads to match the prop nut thread) since the shaft has to be moved in/out to get you access while you are inside the boat.

 

[INTO WISHIN]

Wishin, glad it worked out. But....that brings up a question for me. My new to me 300 WE came with dripless. This is my first experience with inboard straight shafts. Each shaft had a spare as previously mentioned. Problem is, on the sea trial one blew out. Water spraying all over the bilge. It was a quick repair at the dock by the PO. That used the spare on my starboard shaft. If that side blows again, what is involved with replacing and adding another spare?
Thanks

boxer, i'm not familiar with the process, but i figured someone else would chime in , and they did, i see. if you're not comfortable doing it, ask your buddies what mechanic they use and try to watch him do it, so you can get familiar with it. good luck, rune

 

[Lady Ashley SR560]

sounds like they weren't cooling. Did he check the water hose to them?

 

[BOXERDOGTY]

Haul the boat out of the water, remove the prop, un-couple the shaft from the transmission, pull the shaft back enough to get to the end, remove the old seal assembly, clean up any burrs on keyways, polish the seal running surface on the shaft, install the new seal, then put the boat back together and launch it. It is a 2 man job with proper tools (prop puller and a slide hammer with threads to match the prop nut thread) since the shaft has to be moved in/out to get you access while you are inside the boat.

Frank,
Thanks for the input. I've never really looked at the shaft/tranny coupling. I'll check it out.

 

[BOXERDOGTY]

sounds like they weren't cooling. Did he check the water hose to them?

LA,
Probably more of a case of lack of use. The PO only had 90 hours in 7 years! I haven't looked at the shaft seals very closely yet. Where does that cooling water hose draw from anyway?