Stuffing box leaks bad... HELP!

First off, this board is great for new ideas and help with problems. Maybe someone can help me with a problem... My boats stuffing box for the prop shaft leaks really bad now. I have tons of hours on my boat and I already know about tightening it enough for lubrication. It has probably been tightened as much as possible for the final time. What now? it leaks like the Titanic.... Is there a kit to repack it? Does it need to be replaced? Suggestions??? Right now I am at the mercy of the bilge pump...Help!

Repack it

PSS Shaft Seal will solve your problem with no more leaks. I think for about $125 you'll be set. Very easy to install yourself.

Just get the packing material, it's about 10 bucks and will last a long time. They have used it since the 60's and it works fine. You can save a lot of money by buying it at a plumbing store.

If over tightened it will burn up which means it looses lubrication ability and is just a ball of rope material. It is lubricated with graphite I believe. Just loosen lock nut,then the packing nut and slide up shaft. Use a pick to pull old packing out carefully. Hopefully it's in strips. If not take new packing rope and wrap around shaft until it butts together. Cut about 3-4 of these & install new packing material and retighten everything. Should take less than an hour. Dont overtighten. Put boat in water and after running watch it drip very slowly.

Rick

You want to change the packing. It is very easy. Follow the shaft from the
transmission to the bottom of the boat (inside) and you will find a huge nut
(about the size of your closed fist). Loosen the nut to the point where it is no
longer on the threads and you can move it up and down the shaft. This nut has the
packing material inside. Get a packing extractor to pull out the old packing material
(makes the job way easier). I got one at West Marine for $8.00-$10.00. It looks
kind of like a corkscrew. It will only fit in one side of the nut, so you will
know which side of the nut to pull the packing from. Make sure you buy the right
size packing for your nut/shaft because only the correct width of packing will fit.
My Supra Launch uses 1/4 inch packing, nut sure what yous will use. You can
find out from the factory/dealer/other owner or you can pull out the old stuff
and buy the size that looks like the old stuff. If it is too large it will not
fit, too small and it will leak. The packing looks like rope dipped in wax. You
want to cut the rope (packing) to lengths that will form a ring around the
shaft (like a belt around your waist). I use 2 to 3 rings, you may differ. Cut
the packing on about a 45 degree angle and stagger the cuts as you wrap your
rings around the shaft and insert them into the packing nut. MAKE SURE YOU PUT
PACKING GREASE ON THE PACKING BEFORE YOU PUT THE PACKING INTO THE NUT. Don't just
wrap the shaft a few times with one big peice of packing rope -- it will leak.
Tighten the nut back up a about a turn or two and put the boat back into the water.
You will want to look at the nut and tighten it 1/4 turn at a time until water
stops driping in the boat through the packing nut. The ideal packing will drip once
every 10 seconds while the shaft is turning and not at all when in nuteral.

It will take you about 30 minutes the first time you do this.

Thats it. Good luck!

Great advise! Thanks to everyone who responded. I followed tre's advise AND FOR AROUND $10 I am back in shape.

tre,
very good instructions, but what do you use for "packing grease"? Thanks

I bought the packing grease at West Marine. It was next to the packing material in the store. It is green and comes in a small bottle. I think they call it Stuffing Box Lube.