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packing nut, no drip


smooth as glass

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Did a search, (really) found all references to tighting packing nut to stop extra drip. I was getting excess in the bilge so tightened to hopefully reduce drip. NOW have none and someone said dripping is for some lubrication, soooo tried getting drip back and now cant get any. Whats up?? I know you v drive guys would love it but should I be concerned , not having any drips? (loaded question)

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No drips here, no problems yet. Mine used to leak like a faucet and when I tightened it just a bit and it stopped dripping all together. dripping occasionally would have been ideal but on my boat it was an all or nothing proposition. I was worried at first and would feel it to see if it was getting hot after some long runs but haven't noticed anything bad so far.

I think ideally you should ahve a drip every 10-15 seconds but I have talked to a number of people who don't get any drips anymore who haven't had problems. I guess it is possible if you cranked it down a ton that it could be a problem due to increased friction and heat but I doubt that adjusting it just a bit past the dripping point is going to make a big difference.

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If there are no drips that would be due to having the packing nuts too tight. The packing nuts should not get hot, but I would gather from your info that if you ran the boat for about 1-2 minutes they would get quite hot. You don't want this. Losen the packing nut toward the engine, it doesn't have to be alot. And then move the jam nut in the same direction. An 1/8 of an inch may be all that you need.

HAND TIGHTEN the packing nut.

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The same thing happened to me as you. What I suspected is that by tightening it down, the packing material got squished in a bit. Just loosening the nut didn't bring any drips back. But if you loosen it and then drive it around some, the leaking will return. Then you can go back to tightening it again. What I would do is go on a run and see if it feels too hot. But if it doesn't squeal or make noise turning the shaft by hand, it shouldn't be too tight to cause a problem. Oh, and hand tight on my boat wasn't enough to stop a solid stream. I may be due for packing replacement.

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I have to agree with what has been posted above.

I would just back off the nut a 1/8 to a 1/4 turn, run it close to the docks and see if the nut gets hot. If it stays cool just keep an eye on it to see when it start leaking again and then adjust it. If it gets hot you are looking at having to pull the packing out some or just replacing it. I would just replace it. JM2C

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What they all said....

One more thing, I have found it easiest to adjust the assembly while in the water if possible. You get instant feedback on under/overtighten. A little turn will make a big change.

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Personally I like having the bilge washing option - couple times a day, my bilge fills up with water, washes everything down, and the pump pumps it out Crazy.gif

I need to adjust mine - Yes.gif

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When we adjusted ours this summer it was a PITA. It was running a steady stream so we tightend it a little bit and then no water. So we back it off a little bit. Still no drips. Back it off even more, no drips. So we back it off to where it was origionally...no drips. Then we back it off even further...still nothing. At this point we are like WTH??? So we lossen it a full rotation and then t starts to drip. Tighten it back up the smallest amount and what do you know...NO DRIPS Mad.gif We played this game for almost an hour before we could get it to drip every 9-11 seconds. Ours was so out of whack that this winter we might do the dripless/virtually dripless system because within 3-4 times out the boat was dripping way to much Frustrated.gif

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Are you guys adjusting this with the boat in motion? My understanding is that the boat should be in gear, idling, when adjusting the packing nut to get the correct drip rate. Dont know how it is on the VD's, but this is quite simple on the DD.

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Personally I like having the bilge washing option - couple times a day, my bilge fills up with water, washes everything down, and the pump pumps it out  Crazy.gif

And if your auto bilge fails to work like mine did you get a bonus carpet washing and a starter and alternator internal flush job.

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Are you guys adjusting this with the boat in motion? 

I hope your joking

Shocking.gif DANGER!!!!!DANGER!!! Engine must be off and keys in pocket.

I don't know what the danger would be in this. The shaft rotates inside the nuts, and all the moving parts (other than the shaft) are on the other end of the engine.

Unless you're trying to adjust the packing from undernith the boat - that'd be hard to do while moving Biggrin.gif

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I see no danger in adjusting it while the engine is on. We kept our boat on the trailer just in case water started flooding in. Thats the only thing I could see being dangerous if you were out driving around. Just use common sense while the engine is running and you will be fine.

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I don't know what the danger would be in this.  The shaft rotates inside the nuts, and all the moving parts (other than the shaft) are on the other end of the engine.

Have you watched the shaft and nuts while in gear, Troy?

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Have you watched the shaft and nuts while in gear, Troy?

The packing adjustment nuts don't move when in gear - the packing is fixed to the hull. But on my v-drive, the coupling out of the v-drive gear box to the drive shaft has bolts and nuts that could grab a loose finger or wrench if you weren't careful. But I really don't see the need to do this in gear. You can check for drips in gear, but no need to do the adjustment in gear.

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Just make sure that you don't have loose clothing or long hair that could get wrapped around the shaft as it rotates. There was a news story about a woman who got her hair wrapped around a rotating piece of equipment at work and it scalped her completely down to her eyebrows. Were talking exposed skull here! She survived but will spend 6 months in the hospital. Luckily someone shut the machine down quickly enough so her scalp could be recovered.

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The correct drip rate with the wax packing should be 1 drip every 10-15 seconds while in gear - not in neutral. You'll hear that number vary a bit, so anything close to it will be fine.

But forget about the wax packing and go driples with the Gore packing. Nice dry bilge all day long and an easy job.

Mike

Edited by mlange
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The correct drip rate with the wax packing should be 1 drip every 10-15 seconds while in gear - not in neutral.  You'll hear that number vary a bit, so anything close to it will be fine.

But forget about the wax packing and go driples with the Gore packing.  Nice dry bilge all day long and an easy job.

Mike

Both of my Bu's (the 2005 Response & the 2006 Response) did NOT drip!

The packing nuts didn't get hot at all nor did I have any packing nut related problem within the last 140 hours of operation.

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Have you watched the shaft and nuts while in gear, Troy?

The packing adjustment nuts don't move when in gear - the packing is fixed to the hull. But on my v-drive, the coupling out of the v-drive gear box to the drive shaft has bolts and nuts that could grab a loose finger or wrench if you weren't careful. But I really don't see the need to do this in gear. You can check for drips in gear, but no need to do the adjustment in gear.

I agree however, there isn't any great danger doing while in gear at an idle.

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That's how I was instructed to do it. On my DD there is little to no danger. I don't have long hair, wear jewlry or loose fitting clothes tho.

YMMV

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I think the drip rate would be greater in gear than at idle.. and if the boat is on the trailer, than you are cheating yourself some water pressure, since the boat isn't totally floating.

I'm not totally sure, but I'd imagine that the drip rate spec is for when the shaft is turning - since that is when it needs to be cooled. There is no reason why it would need to drip without the shaft turning - that would be considered "a leak"

It may not be a significant difference between the drip rate of the shaft stopped or turning... I really duno - I'm just speculating. Besides, I've never adjusted mine, can't figure out how to get a wrench on the dang thing in the first place. Dontknow.gif

So mine stays plenty cooled, and keeps the bilge moist and clean... it is similar to the knuck ballast system Biggrin.gif

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IIRC, mine had less of a drip in gear w/ shaft spinning than it did out of gear. So if I adjusted for a drip rate in gear, it would actually be more of a "leak" out of gear. So I adjusted for drips in neutral.

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Have you watched the shaft and nuts while in gear, Troy?

But on my v-drive, the coupling out of the v-drive gear box to the drive shaft has bolts and nuts that could grab a loose finger or wrench if you weren't careful.

Thats the part I was refering to. I just know when I had my arms wraped around the gear box that a tuning shaft would have not been good. Or alleast for me.

Maybe it is dangerous for a v-drive, but on our direct drive I am not anywhere near anything thats moving that could cause me any harm.

I agree DD is way easyer and no danger with that little trap door.

Troy I would also agree that the drip rate is greater with the shaft turning.

I have seen this first hand on fire trucks

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