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Post by kenlewis on Dec 18, 2012 18:08:59 GMT
Has anyone come across the same problem as on my SO32 (2004). The stuffing box looks as though it is leaking and needs replacing which is not a problem. My engineer was unhappy about the rusty discolouring of the water and the softness of a mastic type packed into the fibreglass box, to the rear of the stuffing box. The prop shaft goes into a S/S housing which the stuffing box clamps on to. This is where the mastic is soft and does not grip the S/S. Either side of the fibreglass box are two nuts (one holds an earth wire), do they hold a waterproof flange of some sort, behind the mastic? Has anyone had this problem and what cure did you take to rectify the problem as one feels water could penetrate the housing. Thanking you in anticipation Ken Lewis  |
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Donrob
Full Member
Sun Odyssey 43DS
Posts: 40
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Post by Donrob on Dec 18, 2012 21:55:52 GMT
The "stuffing box" is a Volvo shaft seal. These make very good seals but they tend to wear out after some years and start to drip. They will wear out quicker if they are not manually lubricated every time the boat is re-launched. Manual lubrication is simple and entails gently squeezing the the end of the seal onto the shaft until water squirts out. They are not expensive and they are self lubricating with sea water and otherwise maintenance free. I understand that there is another popular brand of shaft seals called Deep Sea Seal but it appears they are much more expensive.
With regards to the fibre glass box I have a similar one on my SO 43DS (see picture attached) but it only has the flange on it ie no nuts and no mastic. It could be you have a leak where the flange meets the fibre glass box and the mastic is there to stop the leak. I guess you would need to remove the mastic to see whats behind it.
It is to be noted that when I changed my Volvo shaft seal there was a rubber seal over the flange to fill a gap between the Volvo shaft seal and the flange. Without this sleeve the steel belt would not make a water tight seal on the flange.
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Donrob
Full Member
Sun Odyssey 43DS
Posts: 40
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Post by Donrob on Dec 18, 2012 21:58:54 GMT
Picture now attached  |
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Post by rodgerg on Dec 18, 2012 22:28:03 GMT
I notice that the discolouration is very Red and appears to be well forward towards the gearbox. Are you sure its rust staining? It looks very much like what ended up at the rear of my engine (same boat) after an emergency fast run home last summer when our daughter was not well. It was caused by the red coloured gearbox oil escaping under load from a breather underneath. This was as a result of it being slightly overfilled. Also when I relaunched last february I followed the burping instructions for the shaft seal and with great difficulty squirted in the volvo seal grease. It hardly drips at all now.
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Donrob
Full Member
Sun Odyssey 43DS
Posts: 40
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Post by Donrob on Dec 21, 2012 8:42:47 GMT
I believe that the Volvo seal grease is to be used only when installing the seal over the shaft. Volvo supply a plastic sleeve in the box to protect the lips of the seal when this is slid over the shaft. Once the seal is installed the sleeve is gently pulled out from the tab and the lips of the seal come in direct contact with the shaft. There should be no need to grease the seal again because it is lubricated by the water. This is why it is important to gently squeeze the seal until water squirts out before re-launching because the water dries up when the boat is out of the water for some time.
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omoo
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Post by omoo on Dec 21, 2012 20:54:53 GMT
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Post by rodgerg on Dec 22, 2012 16:25:54 GMT
It is part of the service to lube using the tube of Volvo grease, damned awkward to get some in, I was thinking of using a Hypodermic next time.
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Post by MalcolmP on Dec 22, 2012 17:42:20 GMT
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omoo
Full Member
Posts: 33
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Post by omoo on Dec 22, 2012 20:08:07 GMT
To insert the grease into the Volvo stuffing box I use a large straw like those used by fast food restaurants. I stick the straw into the container of Volvo grease, squeeze the end flat, sliding the flattened end between the seal and the propeller shaft and squeeze the other end of the straw. Doing this extrudes the grease into the stuffing box.
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Donrob
Full Member
Sun Odyssey 43DS
Posts: 40
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Post by Donrob on Dec 22, 2012 22:00:57 GMT
I have used these Volvo shaft seals for many years and on different boats. I use grease on installation and thereafter I only squeeze the seal to let out any air on re-launching and occassionally in the water thereafter. I have never had any problems with them. They tend to last about five years like this and then they start to drip a little. The part does not cost very much. For those who prefer to grease them I believe it is rather important to take care not to damage the lips of the seal when inserting objects like needles.
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Post by kenlewis on Dec 23, 2012 10:08:32 GMT
Thank you for the answers about the stuffing box lubrication etc but that is not the problem. The problem is the rusty water and the soft mastic, which as you can see from the new photo has been leaking from the fibreglass box behind the rubber stuffing box. For an unknown reason the mastic is soft, so does anyone know if there is a flange behind the mastic and has anyone had a leak in this area rather than from the stuffing box? Ken Lewis  |
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Post by MalcolmP on Dec 23, 2012 10:19:11 GMT
Thank you for the answers about the stuffing box lubrication etc but that is not the problem. The problem is the rusty water and the soft mastic, which as you can see from the new photo has been leaking from the fibreglass box behind the rubber stuffing box. For an unknown reason the mastic is soft, so does anyone know if there is a flange behind the mastic and has anyone had a leak in this area rather than from the stuffing box? Ken Lewis Hi Ken Good point getting this thread back to the question. The new photo is helpful, to my mind this does not look like OEM by Jeanneau - have you had the boat from new? If not I suspect a previous owner has made some changes. If the boat is out of the water I would suggest you need to pull out that sealant and see what is actually under there |
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Post by kenlewis on Dec 23, 2012 17:30:13 GMT
Hi Malcolm
The boat is third hand so changes could have been made and it is also my intention to lift the boat and pull out the sealant and re plug the void. I had wondered if anyone has had to do the same.
Ken
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Post by MalcolmP on Dec 23, 2012 17:42:26 GMT
Hi Malcolm The boat is third hand so changes could have been made and it is also my intention to lift the boat and pull out the sealant and re plug the void. I had wondered if anyone has had to do the same. Ken Hi Ken Do let the forum know what you find (hope it is nothing too significant) Malcolm |
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Post by rodgerg on Dec 23, 2012 23:09:44 GMT
I agree even the bolts the earth strap is connected to look odd. It will be a while before i am back onboard but will take photo of mine and post
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Post by kenlewis on Dec 30, 2012 8:11:12 GMT
The earth straps are on the SO32 wiring diagrams so no mystery there.
Ken Lewis
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Post by Troubadour on Jan 17, 2013 12:23:29 GMT
My 2003 SO32 looks the same, with the earth lead on, but you can't feel any flexible mastic and in fact the whole thing - including the nuts and the earth connection - have been done with light grey Flocoat.
I do not understand what the earth connection is for. This flange is a very small fitting, there is no hull anode to protect it, and on the VP engine the gearbox and prop shaft are isolated electrically and should not be earthed.
Can anyone explain?
Regarding the VP shaft seal, the normal advice is to lube annually and it's very easy using a straw. They normally last much more than 5 years!
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Post by benboon on Apr 4, 2014 14:53:26 GMT
Dear Ken,
I have a SO32 2003 with exactly the same issue.
She was launched today with a new Volvo seal. I had a little leakage with the engine running at idle (to much vibration) and based on age I decided to have it replaced which was done.
After launching the seal looked fine, but we saw very small droplets of water appear where the stainless meets the mastic/soft kit.
I would like to hear what you found out. I think this is a metal hull penetration that needs to be taken off and resealed (out of the water).
Ben Boon - Netherlands
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Post by MalcolmP on Apr 4, 2014 16:22:17 GMT
Hi Ben
Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about this leak
I have just looked up Ken and Troubador and neither has logged on for a few months (this is quite an old thread) but you may still get advice from some of the other sages on this forum
Hope you get it sorted OK
Malcolm
PS I have taken off your email address as it is better to ask people to reply on the forum, or if it is personal then they can always use the Message system to send a Private Message PM - there is also a possible risk of your email being collected for Spam
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Post by kenlewis40 on Apr 4, 2014 21:03:04 GMT
Hi Ben I am sorry to read you had the same problem as my SO32. My engineer dug out the old mastic the best he could and re filled it with new but I do not know which make of mastic. He did this out of the water during the winter of 2013. I cleaned the rust away and I have had no issues since. On the subject of seals, I opted to replace my Volvo seal with a PSS seal, this proved an issue spraying carbon dust, which never stop despite giving it a chance to settle down. I then replaced the PSS with a Volvo seal in the middle of the 2013 season. This continued to drip while the engine was idling and while under way which must have been due to engine vibration as the dripping stopped when the engine was turned off. During this winter, I replaced the shaft and installed a ELICHE RADICE Axial seal RMTA-RTMO type. www.elicheradice.com/axial-seal-rmta-rtmo-type/. The seal has an entrance point for the lubricant grease, including a special closing cap, thus eliminating the need to squeeze grease through a McDonalds straw. There is separate attachment for the water entrance in order to grant the necessary hydro lubrication of the shaft. In essence it is an upmarket Volvo seal and I think may be cheaper. It is early in the season, but to date there is not a drop of water in the area around the shaft. Ken |
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Post by benboon on Apr 4, 2014 21:32:38 GMT
Dear Ken,
Thanks for your quick reaction.
Leakage is very little at the moment, but I am going to pull my boat out again tomorrow to get this sorted.
Engine vibration is less now than last year after valve adjustment etc. We have also added a cleaner for the injectors to see if this will further improve the situation.
I think I also need to recheck alignment.
Always something to do if you own a boat :-)
Ben Boon
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Post by benboon on Apr 10, 2014 21:41:41 GMT
Problem solved!
Stainless flange, mounted to the hull was factory installed with insufficient kit.
The picture shows that the sb bolt has been leaking for a while!
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Post by Don Reaves on Apr 11, 2014 0:39:24 GMT
Here's your picture as a jpeg image. Don  |
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Post by ianqv on Apr 12, 2014 16:43:34 GMT
Glad you are all sorted Ken  Where did you get the seal from? Best Regards Ian P.s We are afloat again.... so GnT's are served at any time!!  |
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Post by kenlewis40 on Apr 12, 2014 17:39:59 GMT
Hi Ian
Glad the copper coat is now doing its stuff.
I do not know where Barnaby got the seal but you could try:-
SILLETTE-SONIC LTD
UNIT 2 BEVERLEY TRADING ESTATE
190/192 BARTH ROAD MORDEN - SURREY - SM4 4LU
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 8337 7543 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 8330 9014
sales@sillette.co.uk.
I think they are the UK agents.
I will ask him, when I see him next.
Ken
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