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water leaking around prop shaft


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i tryed out my boat today (still a little ice on the lake) and everything went fine but the seal or whatever it is around the shaft that drives the prop is LEAKING IN THE BOAT ABOUT A DROP A SECOND - HOW DO I FIX THIS MYSELF

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I believe that is normal. Inboards are supposed to leak in just a little. One drop a second may be a tad much...but wouldn't worry too much. I think it is supposed to be a 1 drop in 2-3 seconds..but am not 100% sure. :unsure:

i tryed out my boat today (still a little ice on the lake) and everything went fine but the seal or whatever it is around the shaft that drives the prop is LEAKING IN THE BOAT ABOUT A DROP A SECOND - HOW DO I FIX THIS MYSELF
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but i leave my boat in the water and i think it will sink just when i pit it in it had 3 or 4 cup fulls in just a short while the boat only has 140 hrs on it

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Do you have a working bilge pump? Once a second is a liitle much, but that should slow down as the packing around the propshaft swells from being wet. A drop every 5 to 10 seconds is normal. I believe they now make a dripless packing, but I know nothing about it. Someone else will chime in on this soon. I've heard it talked about a lot. The packing nut that holds the packing in is adjustable. I THINK you need two 1 5/16" wrenches.

Edited by electricjohn
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what if you have a watercooled shaft seal, do they still leak then. :)

Edited by Mike d Wakeboarder
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One drop every 10 seconds is considered normal but that can vary some. One drop every second should not cause you any real problem as long as your bilge pump is working as stated above. Since you have a direct drive, you are in luck as the access is much easier than a v-drive. To tighten the packing, find the two packing nuts on the stuffing box (where the shaft goes through the bottom of the boat). The first nut is a jam nut that serves as a locking nut for the actual adjusting nut. Loosen that nut a little so you can turn the adjusting nut. Tighten the adjusting nut about 1/4 turn and then retighten the jam nut. Run the boat around a little bit and check the drip rate. It should be around a drip every 10 seconds. You should also feel the stuffing box to make sure it is still cool after running the boat. If it is warm or hot to the touch, the packing is too tight. This is a trial and error procedure and it may take you a few attempts to get it just right.

Good Luck!

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I had the same problem on my 02 v-drive. Mine was leaking more than it should so I replaced the packing seal and it fixed the problem. Easy to do. The wax seal can be purchased from most any boat store/dealer. It comes in different diameters and you cut the length to fit. (if you go to a dealer, they should be able to tell you which one is correct--I bought both sizes since they are about $5 bucks each.). The trick is to make sure the old seal is completely removed. You might consider this fix if tightening the nut does not solve it.

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Should only be dripping when the shaft is spinning - about once every 10 secs - as BlastRlxi said.

Edited by weinrdog
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I screwed with mine about ten times and after adjusting it by either tightening or loosening I just said screw it. It either was one drip every second or no drip at all for me. So I made it not drip but it doesn't get warm or hot so It's fine by me. :) I still check it here and there just to make sure but if anyone seems like it might do any harm please feel free to comment on this post.

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Tighten the nut as described above. Doubt you would need to replace the packing material with that many hours. Tightening usually needs to be done every season. At least for me. If its dripping when the shaft is not spinning its time to tighten. Otherwise I don't worry about it.

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Spec is once every 6 seconds when the boat is at rest and the shaft is not turning. If you tighten it to the point where no water drips at all, you'll wear out your packing prematurely.

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  • 2 months later...
One drop every 10 seconds is considered normal but that can vary some. One drop every second should not cause you any real problem as long as your bilge pump is working as stated above. Since you have a direct drive, you are in luck as the access is much easier than a v-drive. To tighten the packing, find the two packing nuts on the stuffing box (where the shaft goes through the bottom of the boat). The first nut is a jam nut that serves as a locking nut for the actual adjusting nut. Loosen that nut a little so you can turn the adjusting nut. Tighten the adjusting nut about 1/4 turn and then retighten the jam nut. Run the boat around a little bit and check the drip rate. It should be around a drip every 10 seconds. You should also feel the stuffing box to make sure it is still cool after running the boat. If it is warm or hot to the touch, the packing is too tight. This is a trial and error procedure and it may take you a few attempts to get it just right.

Good Luck!

Tonight I found the problem -- 1 drop / second at rest and and a steady stream when under way -- before I head out to the boat -- what sized wrenches do I need to do the adjustment and do I need one or two? VLX 04MY -- not much room -- certainly appreciate the help.

Regards, Olive

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You'll want to pick up a couple of "slip nut wrenches" from your local hardware store. Don't get sucked into buying any special wrenches, slip nut wrenches do the trick for a fraction of the cost - around $7 a piece if I remember correctly.

Mike

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You'll want to pick up a couple of "slip nut wrenches" from your local hardware store. Don't get sucked into buying any special wrenches, slip nut wrenches do the trick for a fraction of the cost - around $7 a piece if I remember correctly.

Mike

Yep, I did a couple of places looking for one until I found out that they kept in the plumbing section and not with the wrenches...

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I thought I slipped a nut a few weeks ago when I was putting the boat lift in, but upon further inspection, it was just a strained groin. Crazy.gif

Edited by UWSkier
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I thought I slipped a nut a few weeks ago when I was putting the boat lift in, but upon further inspection, it was just a strained groin. Crazy.gif

ROFL.gifROFL.gifROFL.gifROFL.gif

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I thought I slipped a nut a few weeks ago when I was putting the boat lift in, but upon further inspection, it was just a strained groin. Crazy.gif

Oh no, a eunuch! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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