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Twin Crusader V drive packing boxes leaking

G

Granny

New member
I have a 1997 Carver 310 express with twin Crusaders and I am having a recurring issue with the packing boxes leaking every time i exceed 2000rpm. It leaks enough that the bilge will run every 30 seconds until I get a mechanic to tighten it down. Then just as I think it is fixed and I try to get up to speed it goes again.
Has anyone experienced this and if so is there a permanent fix?
 
When I last had issues with the stuffing boxes, it was due to erosion of the stainless shaft in the area of the packing. It would quickly tear up the packing. Just a thought.
 
DD's identified one cause of recurring major leaks. The other that I know of is poor alignment, especially with the shaft not being centered in the logs. this problem get worse with reduced shaft sizing.
 
Concur with both DD and MM. Just to reiterate, our shaft on the starboard side was so poorly positioned in the shaft log a few years back, it literally wore away what little material was left from 20+ years of running. Clearly a dangerous situation regarding the possibility of it wiping out any sealing between it and the hull.
 
Granny said:
I have a 1997 Carver 310 express with twin Crusaders and I am having a recurring issue with the packing boxes leaking every time i exceed 2000rpm. It leaks enough that the bilge will run every 30 seconds until I get a mechanic to tighten it down. Then just as I think it is fixed and I try to get up to speed it goes again.
Has anyone experienced this and if so is there a permanent fix?
Click to expand...

You have stated that you had it tightened down..........have you repacked the box(s) at all? You could be running with packing that has had its day.
 
I recently repacked my stuffing boxes. I was amazed when I discovered each shaft had two different sizes of packing material. I have 1 1/2 shafts and one had 1/4 inch packing, the other had 3/16 inch ( it may have been 5/16's I do not remember now) packing. I repacked each with GFO 1/4 packing. There are charts of different shaft sizes and the appropriate size packing material needed.
 
Thanks for all the feedback! This is my first year with the boat and the previous owner stated he did have some issues with the packing. He replaced it a few years back but it does seem to be a recurring issue! I have been looking at Dripless seals which would hopefully solve the problem but at $350.00 each plus labor I will want to check the shafts for corosion and alignment. Any input as to how much to reallign the shafts or worse, have to replace them?
 
The teflon type packing is a better choice. I did mine with it years ago and it has been trouble free.


Jeff
 
Think the worst case scenario is the labor will far and away exceed the material for a complete realignment with new shafts. big factor for the shafts will be size. A standard length (< 84") 1.25 inch will cost ~ $500+ depending upon where you are and how much additional shipping may be needed. Worst case scenario is add new stuffing boxes and maybe a few motor mounts to a couple days labor plus the haul-out...could easily exceed any tax refund check you saw last year.
 
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