shaft packing nuts...question

.....so I noticed a steady stream coming from the shaft packing nut. I got all excited and went out to buy some 2 inch wrenches knowing that i will be in for the fight of my life to loosen these. However upon trying to loosen them I could do it by hand and could easily even seperate the the locking nut. so the question is do i just tighten them till the drip dissappears or what is the best order of things...the boat has 268 hours on it.

You want a drip every couple seconds, this is how the shaft is lubricated.

JT

ADJUSTMENT:

1. Hold the packing nut with one wrench, use a second wrench to loosen the lock nut. Turn the lock nut far enough to keep it from interfering with the next adjustment (2 or 3 turns.).

2. Tighten the packing nut to obtain 4 to 15 drops per minute. Hand tightening of the packing nut is often sufficient to obtain this adjustment. If this is not the case, an additional 1/4 to 1/2 turn with the wrench should produce the desired results.

3. Hold the packing nut in place with one wrench, and use the second wrench to bring the locking nut securely against the packing nut. Make certain that the locking nut is tight. Failure to do this could allow the packing nut to back off when the engine is operating.

4. Operate the engine at slow speeds in forward and reverse and use a light to check for excessive water at the packing nut. Shut off the engine and recheck packing for proper drip.

A drip while under power every 4 - 5 seconds is adequate.

JT

.......thats great, thanks!

I just replaced my packing with the gortex packing...I made my own wrenches due to the tight space and it with the right tools it was an easy job. I get very little water from the packing nut now.

...so greg...the nut doesn't come off so did you just put the packing in blind?

two drops every 10 seconds

Michael, it was a PITA to get the old packing out until found the right tool to remove it...a dental tool is the ticket. Mine had 3 pieces of packing in the nut.

Measure and cut 3 new pieces and place the first one in the nut and hand tighten it to pack the rope in, take the nut back off and repeat the step until all 3 pieces are replaced. Make sure to stagger the cuts on the new packing. Lake test and adjust.

Dripless Shaft Packing - is an excellent invention.

...you talking about the gore tex ?

....how often does it drip..or is it truly dripless.i guess it lets just enough water in to lube it and has a higher heat tolerance?

No, they now make a shaft seal that is totally dripless and doesn't require a packing or adjustment.
Most all Salt Water Series boats come with the dripless shaft packing. MC might put it in all their boats. From what I have been told, it isn't easy to upgrade to it. It is best to get a boat with it already installed.

The rope seal cost $8.00 and only takes about an hour start to finish on my v-drive. I could not justify the extra money for the drip less. They are not cheap and are more labor intensive to install IMO .

This is probably a dumb question (and could possibly be construed as sexual in content) but how do you know what your shaft size is? My shaft seal was leaking like a sieve earlier in the summer so I tightened it up about as far as it would go so I know it time to replace the packing. I was going to order the Gore-Tex from Skidim.com but I do not know my shaft size. Oh and btw I was pleasantly suprised to discover that my shaft nut and locking are plastic. I simply had to remove a cotter pin and tighten it by hand.

...you no I have the same question.....and looking at the goretex too. Anyone know the size on the 2006 21v...I would think the 1 inch.

My dealer sells it by the foot and on our 22ssv there is only enough room in the nut to go around the shaft twice and that is a little less than a foot. Your dealer should be able to tell you if you need the 1/4 or 3/16. Mine was the 1/4

Skidim can answer your questions...just give them a call.