Stuffing box Help

[gman013]

I have a 1998 330 sundancer that has a steady stream of water passing through the drippless stuffing box in the hull. The shaft size is 1 1/2. There is a blue silicone collar with 4 hose clamps and a water supply to keep the interior rubber cool. There does not seem to be any packing that i could tighten up. I tried to tighten the hose clamps with no luck. My bilge pump comes on about every 10 to 15 mins. I would like to fix this is there anyone that could point me in the right direction with what to change or how to fix this? A part # would be great and any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance

 

[Air O'Nautical]

Others will chime in soon.

For now know there is not any packing in a dripless seal.
I think you may have a tides brand seal on your boat.
Check their web site and learn about the replacement seal..you may already have.
Again, better info is surely on the way..

 

[gman013]

thanks for the info, i will check out that seal.

 

[tobnpr]

Yes, you'll have either the Tides Strong Seal, or Sure Seal.

Either way- since you apparently don't have a spare carrier and seal already on the shaft you'll need to haul the boat to replace.

My advice to you- with your bilge pump coming on every ten minutes- is to go ahead and haul it now while you wait for parts. Should your battery charger or batteries fail you, it sounds like the leak is bad enough to send her to the bottom.

 

[gman013]

You guys are exactly right. It does look like the tides seal for sure. Once i saw the steady stream of water, I did haul out the boat just incase. Like you said, I didn't want to rely on the pump to keep her afloat. Thanks a bunch guys for all the help. Let ya know how i make out.

 

[tobnpr]

I suspect that it's no easy job replacing the seals on the 330 with her v-drives.

As long as you're on the hard and dealing with it, suggest you consider doing both sides-including mounting a spare seal on the carrier. That could eliminate the need to haul next time they need replacing.

A sudden, bad leak could be indicative of an underlying problem and not just normal wear and tear...
Inspect your running gear thoroughly for any evidence that you may have hit something.

Engine re-alignment is always a good idea after this job as well.

 

[bliss]

--- and if you are looking for more work while you are down there you might check your rudder packing. If you decide to repack them use only the GoreTex product (the one NOT sold by West) ---- and then there are the water pump impellers ----

 

[njmorrell]

Once you have removed the seal and before fitting the new one, put the shaft back in and make sure it is centered in the stern tube. If it is not centered then the new seal will leak just as badly as the current seal.