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How tight is too tight? Just started leaking one day. tighten and ok for a while. then starts to leak again. put some torque on it this time but still seems to leak. packing less than two years or 75 hours of use

Kevin

What type of packing did you use? I had used teflon once. Had the same problem so I pulled it out and used the plain packing. Never had a problem again. Tony Meola

Well, it has been two years. I think I bought the stuff that said teflon. At the time I assumed teflon made it better, but learned on this site that it is not the case. You think that is the problem?

Don't want to haul the boat. I am fast when I work, but not that fast!

Wonder if CX will stop a leak.......

Kevin
If the sealing surface is corroded or damaged it does not matter how tight you tighten the packing it will never seal and stay sealed for any length of time. If the bearing area of the rudder stock or the bearing area of the packing box is worn and the clearance is excessive the packing will not last because running vibrations will beat out the packing. If your rudder "toe in" is not correct the rudders will vibrate and reduce packing life.

My point is that its unusual to have to keep tightening the rudder stuffing box packing gland............I think that your problem is deeper than packing choice or installation.

Harry Babb

Is your insurance paid up?

Kevin

My experience it was the packing. If you have to pull it to do it then check everything. If you can do it without pulling the boat try the packing first, its the cheapest way out. Then if it leaks go from there. As you know it could be any one of the things we all mention. I don't think corrosion X will work. Might make it worse if it loosens up the packing nut. I never tried it in the water so I don't know how fast it will leak. I can do the packing glands to my shafts in the water but never tried the rudders. Tony Meola

Kevin,

Replacing the packing while in the water isn't that hard. It can be a little disconcerting the first time you do it but there will actually be less water intrusion during the job than if you were repacking a propulsion shaft.

The trick is to have all your ducks in a row before even loosening the packing nut.

Use standard 1/4" flax packing.

Using a continuos piece, wind tightly around the exposed shaft above the nut as many turns as you can make. Use a fresh razor blade and make a cut against & through the packing parallel to the shaft. This will give you several perfect circles of packing that fit the shaft.

You'll need at least three and possibly four pieces per shaft.

You'll also need a hooked tool to remove the old packing. You can probably find one ready made from Worst Marine or BOW, but you can also make one from an ice pick. Heat the lower 1/2" of the pick to a bright red and bend the point into a lazy J.

Once you're ready, loosen the lock nut & unscrew the packing cap all the way off. Use the hook to remove all the old packing from inside of the nut.

Take one piece of the new material and wind it onto the shaft at the top of the packing tube. Move the nut down and over the packing, lift it up and do the next piece. Rotate each piece so that the end joint is 90º away from the previous joint.

Once you have at least three pieces in place, screw the nut down tight to pack in the material. Again take the nut loose and add more material until there is only enough space left to get about a three thread grip on the tube.

Tighten this all down fairly tight and then back off the nut by about 1/8 turn & reset the lock nut. You should be able to do each shaft with less than 5 gallons of water intrusion...

Check for leakage after running the boat for a day and re-adjust as necessary.

Br,

Patrick

I second what Captain Pat has to say. I would rather change out my packing while in the water. The water helps push out stubborn bits of packing.

Nice! I always love to hear good news. I was bummed at first thinking I had to go to the yard. Now I can grab it by the horns. And YES my insurance is paid and current. My cockpit is not screwwed down yet either. I am just going to pull it off so I can also see what I am doing. Thank you for all the great info. Kevin

don`t laugh i am not sure this is used down south.the ideal tool is a lobster pick or fork .the end of the "fork is 1/4" and does a perfect job of removal.

I remember those little forks. No need for them down here.....no good meat on the lobster!

Kevin,
I have used a fish hook. A big'un with the barb filed off. Grab the eye with vise grips and have at it.