- Forum
- Boat Maintenance, Repairs, Upgrades and Additions
- Steering Systems, Bow Thrusters, Auto Pilots
- Replacing Rudder Packing Gland Flax
Replacing Rudder Packing Gland Flax
- Andrew Schoenberg
-
Topic Author
- Offline
- Posts: 28
- Thank you received: 0
Andy
Sisu
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gerry O'Donoghue
-
- Offline
- Posts: 197
- Thank you received: 24
Gerry
theincrediblehull.blogspot.com/search/label/Steering
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Andrew Schoenberg
-
Topic Author
- Offline
- Posts: 28
- Thank you received: 0
Yep 1 1/2 did the trick - I got three 1/4 PTFE wraps on - would have had to take the quadrant off to do much more. Seems the PO just had one wrap so that would explain the leaking last summer.
Thanks for the help
Andy
Sisu
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Michael Collins
-
- Offline
- Posts: 36
- Thank you received: 0
I think my rudder post is leaking on by Brewer. Can I tighten on the post if so what would that be and how much.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gerry O'Donoghue
-
- Offline
- Posts: 197
- Thank you received: 24
The short answer is that you can try tightening it. If the packing is very old and compressed it will be very obvious. The nut won't move very much and the leaking will continue.
I will take a series of photos tomorrow and post them for general information.
Gerry
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Michael Collins
-
- Offline
- Posts: 36
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Jack Dexter
-
- Offline
- Posts: 41
- Thank you received: 4
Thanks in advance for your wisdom. It was great to see you in Miami.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gerry O'Donoghue
-
- Offline
- Posts: 197
- Thank you received: 24
OK, first answer. If its not leaking leave it for the moment (That's the answer most people want). The rudder packing does not suffer as much as the prop shaft packing. At some stage, however, a major look at the whole steering system should merit some attention. From pre-delivery inspections of many boats this is generally a sadly neglected area.
If its leaking you have two options;
1. Tighten down on the compression nut: If your system is the same as mine then it has two nuts. The packing nut and the locking nut. This may not be immediately obvious and if you treat them as one nut then it probably won't budge. Wire brush the exposed threads and back off the locking nut. Then tighten up the packing nut. Re-tighten the locking nut and you are done.
2. As part of a major refit I would re pack the rudder gland: Remove the Bronze arm / Quadrant. Unscrew the locking nut. Remove the packing nut. Dig out the packing, this can be packed very hard and might need some serious digging out. Replace with the correct size packing, try and get three wraps on. Cut the packing as you would for the prop shaft.
Compass Marine How To Article
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gerry O'Donoghue
-
- Offline
- Posts: 197
- Thank you received: 24
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Frederick Chance
-
- Offline
- Posts: 15
- Thank you received: 0
The fix for this problem is certainly much more difficult. It requires removal of the large steering quadrant & the cables that are mounted on the top end of the rudder post. Once this is removed it should be a rather simple job to remove the nuts & put in more packing then tighten down just as you would a conventional stuffing box. This could be done without hauling the boat because it is above water line. My suggestion would be unless you are doing steering cable replacement leave well enough alone & live with a minor leak when motoring or when heavily healed.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Michael Collins
-
- Offline
- Posts: 36
- Thank you received: 0
What do you think Gerry and Fred?
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gerry O'Donoghue
-
- Offline
- Posts: 197
- Thank you received: 24
www.fisheriessupply.com/edson-marine-bro...er-post-stuffing-box
You could try gently tightening on the bolts in succession to see if you can get any more compression. Take is easy, I doubt if you could break off anyone of the wing pieces but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Michael Collins
-
- Offline
- Posts: 36
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Bill Fiegener
-
- Offline
- Posts: 15
- Thank you received: 2
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gerry O'Donoghue
-
- Offline
- Posts: 197
- Thank you received: 24
An chance it looks like this?
I have never come across one. Do you have any photos of yours.
A second possibility I have encountered is that the packing gets so compressed it looks like shiny metal. I had to hammer it with a metal pick to get it to break away. It took a while and I began to believe that I was hammering into bronze.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Bill Fiegener
-
- Offline
- Posts: 15
- Thank you received: 2
thanks for your help.
bill
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gerry O'Donoghue
-
- Offline
- Posts: 197
- Thank you received: 24
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Bill Fiegener
-
- Offline
- Posts: 15
- Thank you received: 2
thanks for your help.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Brian Stewart
-
- Offline
- Posts: 11
- Thank you received: 0
Thanks
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Hannah Gardner
-
- Offline
- Posts: 27
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Forum
- Boat Maintenance, Repairs, Upgrades and Additions
- Steering Systems, Bow Thrusters, Auto Pilots
- Replacing Rudder Packing Gland Flax