Trojan Boat Forum

Hey folks...1976 Tojan Tri cabin...twin chryslers.
If your marina is like mine you can ask 100 questions on any given topic and get 100 different answers when talking to fellow boaters..Having said that, when it comes to stuffing boxs...well you can imagine the answers..

On top of that if your marina is like mine the large majority of inboard owners don't have a clue if their stuffing boxs ever drip or even stop to wonder if the bilge kicking on non stop might have something to do with a stuffing box peeing out nonstop.

This is what I would like to know.

1/ Should stuffing boxs drip when boat is sitting with a COLD engine, with engine OFF at the dock
2/ Should they drip when the boat is warm and idling at dock in neutral or does it need to be in forward or reverse to drip
3/ Should I expect more dripping when the boat is under way than simply sitting at the dock
4/ How much dripping is normal
5/How much dripiing is abnormal
6/ how much wiggle room is there

Finally I just launched my boat today from the winter... Both boxs were really peeing it out pretty good when they first dropped it in the water bBEFORE cranking it over from the long winter. After the boat was warmed up and driven to the dock it REALLY slowed down. I would say the boat ran about 15 minutes in total.
Is was going to go down Tues morning,start it up to warm position and count the drips.
HOW MANY PER MINUTE IS IN THE EXCEPTABLE RANGE???

Anyhow what Im hoping you wise folks tell me is that I don't need to be driving the boat with someones head stuck under those pain in the butt twin beds(where the engines are) to figure this entire thing out.

In closing as I mentioned,I take any advice with a grain of salt at the marina but coming here I guess I feel I have a very good chance of getting the true goods on this question...Thanks

Trojan bob wrote:This is what I would like to know.

1/ Should stuffing boxs drip when boat is sitting with a COLD engine, with engine OFF at the dock
2/ Should they drip when the boat is warm and idling at dock in neutral or does it need to be in forward or reverse to drip
3/ Should I expect more dripping when the boat is under way than simply sitting at the dock
4/ How much dripping is normal
5/How much dripiing is abnormal
6/ how much wiggle room is there

Finally I just launched my boat today from the winter... Both boxs were really peeing it out pretty good when they first dropped it in the water bBEFORE cranking it over from the long winter. After the boat was warmed up and driven to the dock it REALLY slowed down. I would say the boat ran about 15 minutes in total.
Is was going to go down Tues morning,start it up to warm position and count the drips.
HOW MANY PER MINUTE IS IN THE EXCEPTABLE RANGE???

Anyhow what Im hoping you wise folks tell me is that I don't need to be driving the boat with someones head stuck under those pain in the butt twin beds(where the engines are) to figure this entire thing out.

The extra flow when you launched is to be expected... though yours sounds a bit high which might mean worn packing or needs to be tightened up.

Lets deal with questions..
1) No drips
2) No drips in neutral.. warm engine should make no difference. Small drips when in gear.
3) Yes
4) 1-3 drips per minute
5) Constant drips.. tighten the gland.
6) As much as you want in the increase in drips, no drips is bad.

More frequent drips does not harm the packing but might be a sign of not enough packing or loose gland. The more water the wetter the bilge.. a dry bilge is always best.

You can go virtually dripless packing:
http://www.e-marine-inc.com/products/gf ... ml#measure

Read this to relax you:
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box&page=1

You will probably get 100 answers here too... but the RIGHT answer is : they are all different!

Drips are really a sign of water flow, water flow is desirable because it helps cool the stuffing box. You want enough water flow to keep things cool, but don't need any more than that. Make sense?

If you google it, you will find references saying a drop every 15 seconds, or every 10 seconds, or every 6 seconds... so in short about 4-10 per minute is 'desirable'. But realistically the critical thing is to make sure the stuffing box is not overheating.

When you first launch, it is normal for a stuffing box to seep a bit more until the packing gets wet, things swell, etc... If you truly have a 'flow' instead of drips, it is probably needs to be tightened up a bit.

Sitting still, there is no friction, so no heat, so 0 drips are fine. Under way, the shaft is spinning and friction will heat things up. You want enough flow so that when running, things don't get too hot. When the shaft is spinning, the stuffing box will also leak more than when sitting still.

Default setting : tighten it to 4-10 drips per minute and assume it is set up right.

More precise : take the boat out for a spin. While someone else is driving, BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THIS PART!!!! crawl down to where the stuffing box is and carefully put your hand over and then on it... (over first because if you can feel the heat from above, don't touch it!). Don't touch the stuffing box until you have determined it is not too hot to touch, and don't touch the spinning shaft (you will lose body parts FAST if you do!!). See how hot the stuffing box is. If hot, it probably needs to be loosened off to give more water flow. If warm, its fine. If cold, you could tighten things a bit.

Last year I found that for one stuffing box I needed minimum 10 drops per minute (cold, shaft not spinning) while the other side doesn't drip any more than once every couple of minutes. At one point I tightened up the 'leaky' stuffing box to about 2-3 drops per minute and went for a spin, and when I looked below I actually saw STEAM coming off the stuffing box. TOO HOT !!!!

Happy experimenting!

last year...at band camp...

i was told it was normal for a drip every few seconds. but then, like you, i also heard a lot of different answers as well.

i finally gave up and just figured if it was dripping enough to keep it wet and lubed, AND it seemed to be working, to just accept it and move on.

so far, 18 months of ownership and it's good to go.

I say if your gland is dripping you should see a doctor.

Thanks folks..At least I didn't ask a dumb question as there does seem to be alot of confusion on this. Being something that if not in proper order, can end up costing you thousands of dollars, Im really shocked how ho hum so many boaters are about it.
Anyhow from your responses this is what I think Im getting..
At the dock, warmed up and in NEUTRAL I should be getting ZERO drpping
Once under power I should be getting about 5 drips a minute

Thats what Im going to aim for.....ALSO.. If I have misread any of the advice you folks have given me,please reply back ,because... this is what Im going to adjust it to as far as my settings to control the drip/no drip mystery !!!!!

I prefer a few drips at rest, so I don't have to go down and try to check when its running ...

If you over-tighten and get no drips ever, you can ruin the shaft.

It will be hard to get zero drips in neutral and not be too tight . I would shoot for a drop or 2 at rest

Something to think about: Does all the water leave the shaft pocket at planing speeds?? Why do some stuffing boxes have a pressurized water hose hooked to them?

I've never given stuffing boxes much thought...if they leak a lot, tighten it up keeping in mind that too tight will cut your shaft.

Danny Bailey wrote:Something to think about: Does all the water leave the shaft pocket at planing speeds?? Why do some stuffing boxes have a pressurized water hose hooked to them?

I've never given stuffing boxes much thought...if they leak a lot, tighten it up keeping in mind that too tight will cut your shaft.

Good questions . in the case of our Trojans the water stays in the "pocket" a dripping shaft log tells you that , drip-less boxes on planing hulls use pressurized water to lub/cool them . I have seen pressurized water hooked up to pacing type boxes , in these cases the stuffing box was a long way from where the shaft exited the hull , the water in that case also feeds the cutlass bearing where the shaft exits.

Hey folks.. Gott say,this entire dripping box question is driving me a bit bonkers. I say that because on one hand, respected sites on line indicate it is a vital aspect of good maintenance of a vessel that can cost literally thousands of dollars if not taken care of. On the other hand nobody in my marina gives it any thought. Sure they will check there lousy $100 battery 5 times a summer to ensure water levels, but drippiing box !!!! ... hell they don't even know where they are in some cases. Then I can assure you, that if you talk to a mechanic you will get that uncomfortable look accompanied with an obvious lets wing this answer reply. Then then answers start which can range from.....it should drip in neutral,..... it should not drip in neutral,.... to 1 drip a minute to 10 drips a minute.
After all this, including responses here to mechanics comments Im a bit more confused than ever.
Now tell me if my thinking is right or wrong. I am going to take advice that makes sense to me..STOP counting the drips... Here is what I mean...I took the boat out for a 20 minute 1400 rpm run yesterday.. Port side is dripping under load at about 5 drips per minute.. the starboard..I don't think its dripping at all... HOWEVER.. I took the advice of an earlier response to this post that said.. just feel them for heat..Well after my 20 minute run I did feel them.. Both as cool as can be,,almost cold actually.. SO.. unless someone tells me Im bordering suicide with my cool hand feel test approach, Im not counting drips with a stop watch any more.

• 1) It doesn't NEED to drip. There is no advantage to actually having a flow of water passing through the packing and entering your bilge.
  
  2) The packing NEEDS to be wet for a) lubrication and b) cooling (especially in warmer equatorial waters - often 90degF here in July/Aug).
  
  3) And (as Danny stated), the packing can't be too tight, as it will wear the shaft.

SO:

• 1) A few drips indicate that the packing is staying wet and isn't overly tight.
  
  2) Too many drips will run your bilge pump down, and could sink your boat, so there is an upper drip/minute limit - which is simply your own comfort level with how much water is entering your boat.

You've already proven that there is no single answer.

So - decide for yourself - as everyone else here (and at your marina) has ...

While running, I have my wife run the boat while I check the "drips". I adjust mine and re-adjust from time to time at one drop every 10 to 15 seconds, again, while running. This way I know my boxes and shafts are lubed and cool. I don't care if it drips while not running as long as it doesn't sink the boat, as rossjo said. Before I start my engines I sniff test the bilge for gasoline, check the oil and look at my stuffing boxes and the boxes usually are wet but not dripping much. As I start running the boxes drip more, approx. once every 10 to 15 seconds. I have never had a problem.

great info all! My My starboard stuffing box has zero drips and I thought that was great, but after reading this I will check for heat in it after a run. However my port stuffing box is a steady drip ( about 2 drips per second) when I but a wrench to it it and started to loosen the nut it turned to a stream, took wrench off (scared) and grabbed it with my hand and wiggled a squirt shot out around the shaft, at this point I sat on the fly bridge had a beer and except for checking on the drip stayed away form it. Is this normal? I also tightened the clamp on the rubber boot, thinking it might have had something to do with it. By tighten up this means turn the nut 1/8 at a time towards the booted end (as opposed to the v drive end?

1976 tri fly 5.7 mercruisers, 1 new v drive (dry) one older v drive (leaky)
the new v drive shows about 1/2 inch less thread(1.25 inch approx) than the leaky one (approx 1.75 inch thread showing)

last thing... am I correct to bring back this thread to ask for my problem or should I have started a new one? Would this be considered hijacking?

don't worry about the number of drips. Use an IR gun and measure the bronze part of the stuffing box at a couple of different speeds.

If it's cool, it's dripping enough. The temperature can't lie, if it's running dry it'll be too hot. How hot is too hot? Max of 30 degrees over the water temp, the cooler the better.

With GFO packing my temps are about 10-15 degrees over the water temp. I haven't actually "seen" dripping underway.

If you use this method, you eliminate all of the other variables.

Bob