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Drip less or Packing?


1993spartan

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Hi Crew, for various reasons I was not able to put our boat into the water until last Sunday. After cruising around the lake for a while, checking connections etc., I noticed that the packing around the prop shaft is leaking a small but steady stream of water. I drove up to service center near our cottage to get the wrench and packing and the tech asked if I was interested in a drip less system. I have heard a little about them a read a bit on this site, but my questions to the crew are is this the way to go? What are some of the pros and cons of a drip less system? If I change to drip less is it "set it and forget it" or do they require maintenance as well? My boat is a 2007 23LSV with a 350 Monsoon. Thanks, Steve

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So it seems like those that have dripless are happy with them. Thanks for the feedback guys.

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While the dripless system is certainly a good choice it's no 5 minute or low buck installation. In order to install the dripless system you'll need to.....

Unbolt the coupler from the transmission flange.

Remove the coupler from the prop shaft (this can be challenging but there are tools you can buy to make this easier).

Remove the packing nut assembly.

Install the dripless system.

Reinstall the coupler and reinstall the coupler to the transmission flange (this is also a good time to check alignment).

Adjust the dripless system to installation specifications.

Conversely speaking the new packing that is available is near dripless and should last 4 or 5 years. Installation here is fairly straight forward.....

Loosen packing nut.

Remove packing. I use a long drywall screw to dig into the old packing then pull it out with some mechanic's picks.

Measure, cut and install new packing.

Adjust packing nut. With the boat in the water in forward at idle, I start with the nut very loose then slowing tighten it until only a drop is coming out every minute or two. Once there I take a couple high speed runs and check the temp of the packing nut. It should be cool to warm to the touch.

This process takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to complete on a DD. If you have a vDrive the case for doing the dripless system is much greater as working on and adjusting a packing nut in the confined area under the engine is no fun.

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