Tightning the drive shaft seal...

[surroundsound64]

I've never needed to tighten it before because it hasn't ever leaked up untill about a week and a half ago. I haven't messed with it yet b/c I haven't located a 2 inch open ended wrench, but when I do what will I need to do to keep the shaft still while I tighten the bolt?

Thanks!

[83sn2001]

RE: Tightning the drive shaft seal...

You don't need an open end wrench. A large pair of channel lock pliers is what has worked best for me. Actyally two pair. Any way, loosen the jam nut and hand tighten the packing nut until you get a drop of water about every 25-30 seconds. Then hold the packing nut while you tighten the jam nut. It is very simple. The reason I use channel locks is they are easier to position and a 2" open end wrench is not cheap.

[surroundsound64]

Thanks! I don't wanna use the channel locks b/c I don't wanna mark up the bolt. The metal is soft and I wanna keep it lookin nice if I can.

[JAG]

Unless you have unlimited access to the packing nuts use Channel locks and a rag if you have to. You'll find that you'll have difficulty (or be impossible) trying to align the wrench to the nut in the limited space the access port gives you. Don't forget to replace the safety wire.

[surroundsound64]

Unless you have unlimited access to the packing nuts use Channel locks and a rag if you have to. You'll find that you'll have difficulty (or be impossible) trying to align the wrench to the nut in the limited space the access port gives you. Don't forget to replace the safety wire.

Safety wire? I don't recall there being any wires around that area. Please explain. Or are you talking about the neutral safety switch wires on the tranny?

[JAG]

Unless you have a setup I am unfamiliar with there is a safety wire that passes through holes located on each packing nut, connecting the two together and therefore, preventing accidental backing off. If the wire is missing look for the holes close to the rubber hose covering the shaft, the hose ends may be blocking them from site. The stainless wire is several inches long. Look in your owners manual for directions. If you don't have one you should be able to download it here.

[TrailInn2]

Look at the packing gland on the rudder, the safety wire is on that as well. Regarding the drive shaft, after tightening (hand tight only) you will probably have to loosen the hose clamps on the bronze bushing and rotate it so the hole that the wire goes through will line up with the hole in the nut that you just tightened. Jag is right in that the manual explains this pretty well.

I used channel locks as well as that is all that would fit. If you find a 2" open end wrench it is going to be 2 ft. long and you won`t be able to swing it. It doesn`t take a tremendous amount of force to loosen the jam nut, so I don`t think you will damage the nut at all.

[DavidF]

For clarification: Many, if not all, rudder ports/stuffing boxes do not use safety wire on the cap as is common with the shaft log. The rudder does however use a safety wire between the bolts securing the tiller arm in place. Reason: If the tiller arm bolt cannot back off (i.e. safety wire) then the packing nut is prevented from falling off. Also, some driveshafts have collars in lieu of safety wires or in combination with the wire. Now, I am not 100% sure if the collar is meant from keeping the shaft from hitting the rudder if the shaft comes out of the coupling or if the collar keeps the packing nut from backing off.

Oh yea, some wrench choices that will not mar the nut surface: monkey, crescent, spanner

[Dr.John]

Since we are on this subject, has anyone here used this product? http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GFO1/4X24