Stuffing Box

[Speedy]

I've been doing some basic maintenance on my 99 sport and was wondering specifically how much of a drip should the prop shaft stuffing box have.

[charlesml3]

Very simple:

- If water is pouring out in a stream, tighten it a little.

- If no water at all is dripping out, loosen it a little.

- Anything else, leave it alone.

[Jonny Quest]

I like a drip every 10 seconds or so. You can do it fairly easily with the boat on the trailer while on the launch ramp. Just ensure that you are properly tied-down and that the prop won't contact the prop cage area.

JQ

[bturner]

We've always adjusted while in idle which can feel a bit sketchy but that's the way I was taught to do it. As for dripping.... I've heard a drop per second, a drop every 10 seconds but really with the new PTFE packing you can buy you can get them to nearly not drip at all. The key is checking to see how hot the stuffing box is and don't get hung up on drops per second. When adjusted correctly you should have very little water coming out of the box and it should be running cool enough to easily put your hand on it after the boat has ran at speed.

I always found out what size I needed and bought the best stuff I could find, especially if I was doing it on a vDrive.The the good stuff and you'll probably never have to do it again.

[Speedy]

Thanks for all the advice. I went out for a 2hr run and checked the temperature of the stuffing box and drips per second right before shutting the engine down.
1. Held the stuffing box with one hand fingers wrapped around it and it was lukewarm.
2. stuffing box area was wet. Splashy wet not large puddle wet, also splashy wet under the engine, a dry ski locker and no water drains out of the rear drain plug.
3. I dried up the area and while at idle there was a small drip every 8 to 10 seconds from the stuffing box.
4. I'm guessing all is well and I should leave well enough alone. Let me know your thoughts.

[charlesml3]

Leave it alone It's doing exactly what it should be doing. More than one owner here has made the mistake of "fixing the leak" by tightening it down. This type of stuffing box is supposed to leak. It has to leak in order to cool. Even if it was dripping once every TWO seconds that would be well within what the bilge pump could handle.

-Charles

[Speedy]

Thanks for the great advice

[bturner]

I agree with Charles. Run it for a couple weeks and revisit if necessary. Sounds like you have the fix in place though.

[NautiqueJeff]

Here's the official answer from the 1999 Sport Nautique Owner's Manual.

[Speedy]

Thanks Jeff that's a wealth of information. I've been looking for an owners manual since I purchased the Boat. Can you tell me where I can get a copy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SilentSeven]

Um...how about right here.

https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...uals-brochures

[Speedy]

Thank you, thank you, thank you… I've been searching for this for a while. I've been to several dealers including White Lake searching for these manual

[Speedy]

I should've started my search right here