Volvo Stuffing Box

[kenlewis40]

 Hi all

The survey on my boat suggested the Volvo stuffing box should be changed so I replaced it with a PSS seal. This seal continued to spray carbon after many hours of different adjustments, so I decided to replace it with a new Volvo seal. 


Unfortunately, the new seal drips with the engine in idle but does NOT drip when running or when the engine is switched off. My engineer is at a bit of a loss at to what to do now.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Ken

[rene460]

Hi Ken,

The good news is that it does not drip with the engine off.

I assume that you know that seal needs to be "burped" to allow the air caught in the rubber boot that surrounds the shaft to escape each time you launch.  The air needs to be expelled so that water provides lubrication and cooling to the actual seal.  I don't know what happens if you don't do it, I have always assumed some form of premature failure, but I suppose other peculiar behaviour is possible prior to failure.

If you did not do it, it is worth a try as it has to be done anyway.

rene460

[j]

the seal also needs to be greased.

Is it possible that the PSS seal scored the shaft?

[Trevor]

I had a problem on a previous boat where electrolysis or galvanic corrosion had caused pitting of the prop shaft and caused the volvo seal to leak.  The cutlass bearing was also quite worn and had to be replaced.

That was expensive.

Trevor

[kenlewis40]

Hi all

Thanks for the replies. The cutlass bearing has been replaced during the winter, the seal has been greased and burped but it is possible that the PSS seal has scored the shaft.

Also, is it easy to spot if the shaft is pitted, it looked good to me?

Thanks

Ken 

 

[efitz]

I had this problem also.
I found that the shaft was vibrating a bit at idle, which was causing a little water to come through. I solved this by increasing the idle speed to about 900 rpm (it was 800). this was enough to stop the vibration.
The engine manual recommends an idle speed of 1000 or less (yanmar 3ym30 in my case).
It's worth a try.

[so40gtb]

I dealt with a leaking shaft seal this week on my SO40. I'm embarassed to admit that, after 5 years of SO34 ownership and in my second year with the SO40, I was cluel;ess as to burping and greasing of the Volvo Penta seal. Burping the seal did not stop the minor water ingress with engine vibration, but greasing it did. In my case, I probably squeezed in about 5 cm of grease using a plastic straw around 6 mm in diameter, displacing substantial water. That's a lot more than the "pea" that others have noted, so I conclude that this "annual maintenance activity" has never been done before. The kludged-up hose from the engine region drain into the bilge, to carry engine region water to the sump, should have been a direct clue that this problem has existed in the past but wasn't attacked from the appropriate direction. Anyway, the basin behind the engine compartment is now "bone dry", even with hours of motoring and some fairly violent reverse and forward action when the wind interfered with berthing off a narrow fairway.

Now to erradicate that invisible slit in the head's flushing supply hose that's dripping water into those bilge compartments that won't drain into the sump ...

--Karl

[kenlewis40]

Thanks Karl, I shall try more than a "peas" worth of grease may be a "French beans" worth!


Regards
Ken