Stuffing Box Packing

[fourreins]

Need to repack and was considering Gore GFO, but have read about some concerns about galvanic corrosion. Is this really something to worry about? What are most people using today?

[prowlersfish]

That's what I have been using I had any issues .

[Allen Sr]

That's what I used when I did mine 5 years ago with no issues.

[The Dog House]

I used Gore GFO packing 3 years ago and have had no issues. I have read that other similar products are not as good and to make sure to use the Gore brand. I think it cost me $9.00 for the Gore, so there isn't any reason to use the cheap stuff.

[bjanakos]

Where did you source it? What size for an F-32? I need to get mine done as well.

[prowlersfish]

West marine and others carry it . The size varies on your shaft size F32s use several deferent size shafts .

What size is your shaft ? I have a chart ( That I have posted several times )

[gitchisum]

What would a 1.25" shaft need Paul?

[prowlersfish]

1/4"


1" uses 1/4" packing
1 1/8" shaft uses 3/16" packing
1 1/4" shaft uses 1/4" packing
1 3/8" shaft uses 5/16" packing
1 1/2" shaft uses 1/4" packing
1 3/4" shaft uses 1/2" packing
2" shaft uses 3/8" packing
2 1/4" shaft uses 7/16" packing
2 1/2" shaft uses 5/16" packing
3" shaft uses 9/16" packing

[Reel Easy]

How much do you let this type drip? Or how tight do you Tighten it?

[captainmaniac]

How much do you let this type drip? Or how tight do you Tighten it?

The official rule "loose enough to allow lubrication and keep the gland from overheating, but tight enough to minimize flow". That can vary from boat to boat from 1-2 drips (or less) / minute at rest, to 6 -10 drips (or more) / minute. What's great about the Gore GFO is the PTFE in it is so slippery that it lets you crank it a bit tighter without generating a lot of extra heat from friction.

I picked up an infrared thermometer (http://www.amazon.ca/General-Tools-Inst ... B00377BSU4), and after setting up stuffing boxes the way I think they should be, I aim that at the boxes while under way to check on temps. Its easier (and safer) to use an IR thermometer to find out what's going on, than to put your hand on a potentially 200F piece of brass! I am sure temps will depend to a degree on what water you are operating in (Florida and Alaska might be a tad different!!), but temps under 120F are probably safe. That's colder than the temps your T-Stats will open at. If you can run at <120F and have minimal drip rate / spray at running speed, and 0-2 drips at rest, you are doing good.

Other things can affect it too. For a couple of years I had an annoying as heck squeal from one stuffing box shortly after shifting from forward (at idle) to neutral (once the boat slowed down a bit the drag on the prop forced the shaft to turn at a speed that hit some resonance frequency). And I had a bugger of a time controlling temperatures. At one point I had a pretty good trickle of water coming in at 2500RPM (more of a spray at that RPM), so tightened it 1/4 turn. Checked it 5 minutes later, and there was STEAM coming off of the gland!!! Eventually found that (somehow??) the packing nut had been cross threaded, and it was just friction between shaft and nut... once nut was properly aligned and seated, I could get away with 1-2 drips per minute (or even dryer) when docked, and at speed the gland was only hitting about 90F.

[RonW]

Thank you Prowlersfish for the packing size chart.
I'm new to stuffing boxes and didn't know the little fellows were so fussy. Having cruised this forum, when I first joined, I figured that I'd better learn and pay attention. I found mine to be in excellent shape based on what I've read, but I also now feel that I know how to monitor, adjust and maintain them.... thanks to all of you guys.
(so glad to be finished with stern drives)
Ron

[K4282]

looks like you got the information you were looking for, just to reiterate I also and using Gore GFO and not having any issues with two different F32s, the older one I replaced the packing 4 years ago, super cheap, i mean under $10 shipped to your house to do both shafts, sourced from a google search

[Reel Easy]

Thanks guys.

[Christian]

Hi Prowlerfish,

Does the list of sizes you kindly posted apply for the rudder stuffing as well?

Cheers,

CB

[prowlersfish]

Yes