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bad shaft noise squeak squeak squeak

C

capnandy

New member
Will repacking the stuffing box make this very loud squeak go away? Box is leaking pretty bad so I know it needs to be repacked but not sure whats making this noise. When boat was out of the water strut bearing didn't look bad and shaft wasn't rubbing on metal boat penetration. Is this noise from old hard packing?
 
Eeeeck! (and not just the noise). Your packing has lost all of its lubricating ability and is wearing away your $$$$ stainless shaft. DON'T keep tightening it up to stop the leak--that only makes things worse. Replace the packing with a Teflon material, which works super. Oh, and this can be done in the water. Stuff a rag in there to limit the flow as you work. Not that much water comes in, certainly less than your bilge pump can handle.

Jeff
 
Gee whiz....After reading this, even though my GFO packing is fine...I am going to change it before we drop the boat in. The mental image of that scene makes me cringe a little.
 
The flax size will vary will shaft size and stuff box MFG. Best to measure the shaft size and the stuffing box cap...using the old stuff will usually result in undersizing.

the flax should go into the cap with some manual effort but not require a lot of force.

If in doubt, you may want to consider paying the local mech to do one so you can 'learn by watching'.
 
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