do you have to pull the prop to remove packing>>>read on

[tryme]

i am going to replace my packing and the maint doc shows all the pieces separated from the shaft.  i assume i have to remove the motor mounts and pull the shaft off the mount and slide it out a little to get the pieces off.  will it go back far enough where i dont have to remove the prop of rudder?  thanks in advance

[Capt Rick]

This is the easy way to do it:
1. Remove cotter pin
2. Remove Jam nut and slide away from packing gland.
3. Cut teflon coated packing so it fits the shaft w/o a space. 1 will fit
4. insert on shaft and stuff it like a turkey.
5. Secure the nut hand tight , back out so it has 1/8 turn loose.
6. Install cotter pin
7. put boat in water and run it.
8 Adjust nut so just a drip drip drip.
9. inspect after running do not overtighten.

[tryme]

so you dont remove the old packing?

[Bitzco]

Long live the Cap'n!

[Capt Rick]

The original packing is hidden behind plastic washers, so do it right you need to follow :
Shaft Repacking from the source
the instructions in the maint section.

[Windy2]

I've got the same problem.  Shaft leaks a stream as big as my little finger and the gland looks to be almost completely tightened.  I will see if I can get an extra half turn - but am aware that it is a plastic gland and I do not want to strip the threads.

Ok - so I've read the RPFTS instructions and the above - and have the same question.  Can I back off the gland and the ring clamps and pick out the old packing and replace it without pulling the shaft?  Should I even try? Or should I simply back off the front of the gland, throw in another round of packing in front of the washer and whatever's there and Bob's your uncle?

[sailtl]

You need to remove the old packing. West Marine sells a tool to remove old packing. You can do it with the shaft connected. There are actually 2 packings inside just as the instructions say. 1st packing then back up washer, then packing, then another back-up washer. then the nut. I greased up my shaft prior to doing all this to make sure not to over heat the shaft. It takes time to get it done. Just follow the directions and you will be fine. There are dripless one on the market but you have to plumb water to them and remove the shaft to do it. Take your time and you will get it done.

[tryme]

is it safe to remove the rubber hose from the boat.  what i mean is the last 2 hose clamps and pull it from the hull of the boat to expose more of the shaft.  or at least the rear of the shaft?

[Bitzco]

Heh, heh, expose the shaft

[svlkid]

So, did any of you guys replace your packings? The tutorial looks real nice but things aren't so easy when we don't have brand new, clean parts out of the boat to work on. I looked at them today, and looked at them, and looked at them some more. I finally decided not to tackle them at this time because even with quite a bit of mechanical experience under my belt, I don't see how I'll get those packings out without goring the shaft or removing the shaft. You can't even SEE the packings. And while removing the shaft from the engine is pretty easy, how do you remove that rusty flange that looks pretty content right where it's been for the last 1660 hours??
I will feel real embarrassed if I need to bring this to some other dealer to replace the packings.
Any help guys?

[Bitzco]

So this is what I did. Once i had the two clamps off, I slid the plastic assembly out of the rubber part (up the shaft). Then I used the cotter pin and pushed the packing out from the back side of the plastic assembly. There is just enough space between the shaft and the plastic to poke it in there. It took about five minutes of poking all the way around and the packing and spacers and everything came out the front side (up the shaft). No shaft removal or anything. The only real problem I came across was stuffing the new packing all the way into the plastic. It is a tight fit. I would suggest stuffing the first packing and its spacer all the way in before puting the second packing and its spacer in. If you don't it is a bear to squeeze it all together until you can get the threads on the two plastic pieces to engage. Heh, heh, maybe I'm a boat God now.

[PSullivan3]

Where do you get the packing?

[Bitzco]

Any boat store that sells inboards should have it.

[svlkid]

Kewl! Thanks for the info Bitz. It didn't look like there was room to push the old ones through. How long did it take you - start to finish - if you recall?

[Bitzco]

about an hour. If I had started out knowing what I was doing, I could have easily done it in half an hour and I am no do it yourselfer.