Hi folks, following our lightning strike we had structural survey done of the hull prior to starting repairs. We needed to reassure ourselves that there were no hidden problems with the hull. During the course of the investigation the surveyor noticed that the hose connecting the stuffing box to the stern tube was cracked and he strongly recommended that it be replaced in his report.
For those of you who have done this job are there any tips that you could share with me before I tackle this task this week.
Thanks…Ron
Ron & Diane Schryver
“Alpha Waves” '87 NS30U #393
Georgian Bay Ontario
The hard part will be separating the shaft from the transmission coupling. Once that is done you can easily slide the shaft and prop together out the back. You will of course be doing this on land. When I removed my engine back in 2008 the mechanic helping me after loosening the coupling set screws took a round bar smaller than the prop shaft and tapped it with a heavy mallet until it was free. I’m not sure if he used some heat on the coupling before hand to expand it slightly but, I guess it could not hurt if you are careful.
You need to get the coupling soaking in penetrant ASAP. If you have the time, after spraying, tap it all around several times with a hammer. If you can do this over a several day period, eventually it will come apart easily.
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221 (1984)
Sea Harbour Yacht Club
Oriental, NC
I replaced my stuffing box hose this spring, and as others have commented,
getting the shaft out of the way is the biggest challenge. I also replaced
the cutless bearing while I was at it, and, of course, repacked the stuffing
box. (I decided against the PSS-type shaft seals.)
I chose to pull the shaft out from the inside of the boat, so the trannie
coupling was not an issue for me, and to have the shaft and prop looked at
while they were removed. My biggest challenge was removing the prop - took
a wheel puller and heat to release it from the shaft.
I hope you made it through this OK because you posed it 9 days ago.
My 2 bits.
I agree the hardest part was removing the coupling from the shaft. No amount of penetrant would have helped me in the end but it did manage to loosen the coupling at first. The problem was the two set screws in the coupling have a point on the end and when tightened down on the shaft raised two litte ringed craters out of the shaft steel. After removing the set screws the shaft could move a bit back and forth and along the shaft about the width of the set screw holes. In the end I removed it with an improvised gear puller - two bolts and a plate across the coupler with a series of longer and longer sockets pushing the shaft out - and it was not so bad but there are now two nasty groves on the inside of the coupler..
Now if I had to do it again - I would stick a drill into the set screw holes and try to clean off this little ring raised by the set screw. Might have to buy a new coupler. Might get bits of metal from the drill. But definately easier than cutting the shaft or using a gear puller in the 26 engine space.
When I removed my engine back in 2008 the mechanic helping me after loosening the coupling set screws took a round bar smaller than the prop shaft and tapped it with a heavy mallet until it was free. I’m not sure if he used some heat on the coupling before hand to expand it slightly but, I guess it could not hurt if you are careful.