Propeller shaft will not turn

[billvancleve]

Propeller shaft will not turn, Engine starts and runs with no problems, The transmission will shift to both forward and reverse, but engine stalls. In neutral I can slightly rotate shaft, but not more than 1/8". There are no obstructions under the boat.

[hanleyclifford]

Propeller shaft will not turn, Engine starts and runs with no problems, The transmission will shift to both forward and reverse, but engine stalls. In neutral I can slightly rotate shaft, but not more than 1/8". There are no obstructions under the boat.

Have you recently done any adjustment work in the gearbox?

[JOHN COOKSON]

Loosen the packing nut a bit and then see if you can turn the shaft by hand.

TRUE GRIT

Edit: A big welcome to the forum.

[Al Schober]

bill,
if loosening the packing gland doesn't fix things, recommend you pull the 3 bolts connecting the shaft coupling to the transmission. this will tell whether there's a transmission issue or a shafting issue.

[toddster]

Are you sure the prop isn't fouled in a line? If you don't want to dive it, a GoPro on an extension pole can be informative, though you might have to (slowly) wave it all over the place to get the picture you want.

[billvancleve]

propeller shaft won't turn

I have determined that the propeller shaft is somehow frozen in the threaded tube that the packing nut is attached too. I run the boat an a weekly basis. Backing off the packing nut does noe solve this problem nor am i getting any water in the boat. Any thoughts would be appreciated. My guess is the drip less packing has migrated into the tube.

[Al Schober]

First, I'd back the stuffing box off all the way and dig all the old packing out of it. Then I'd cut a couple of new rings of packing and have them ready. I recommend the Goretex 'keystone' packing. This stuff has a 'keystone' cross section. You wrap it around the shaft with the small section against the shaft, and it magically becomes square.
I still recommend pulling the 3 bolts connecting the coupling to the transmission. This will allow you to move the shaft fore and aft as well as rotating it to try to work the old packing out of the interface.

[sastanley]

I like Al's advice..I thought the boat would sink without shaft packing, but I've seen it, and it really isn't that fast. The boat would eventually sink, but in a controlled environment, it is not catastrophic. Not nearly as fast as an open thru-hull from the speedo wheel. You will get some water in the bilge, but it is just a fast trickle.

I do still find it curious that the packing material could cause enough friction to stall the engine.

[edwardc]

...I do still find it curious that the packing material could cause enough friction to stall the engine.

Me too. I would think it more likely that the cutless bearing is seized.

[ndutton]

I do still find it curious that the packing material could cause enough friction to stall the engine.

Thatch and I experienced it first hand leaving the slip to chase the U.S.S. Iowa a while back:

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showpost.php?p=57300&postcount=19

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showpost.php?p=69295&postcount=11

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showpost.php?p=70195&postcount=55

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24045&postcount=14

[thatch]

Heading out with Neil to greet the U.S.S. Iowa was indeed a memorable event. I have experienced an engine "bog down" episode on a few occasions after doing a shaft log adjustment. Generally the engine will run fine for a few minutes and then will begin to slow down as the packing heats up. A minor adjustment has always gotten rid of the problem. Recently however, while motoring over to the pump-out station, the same symptoms showed up. This time, since I was parked in the middle of the channel, I elected to spray a little WD40 on the stuffing box seal area and then proceeded to exercise the reversing gear from forward to reverse several times. This cleared up the problem, but it did get me to thinking. My catalina 30 has very little clearance between the propshaft and the stuffing box hole in the hull, which leads me to believe that there has been a build-up of marine crud restricting adaquate water-flow to the packing gland. My hull is cleaned on a monthly basis, but I doubt that my diver cleans out that crevice. My weekly routine is to run my A4 for about a 15 minute warm-up in neutral, but a very busy schedual this year has prevented me from getting away from the slip very often. To try to reduce this build-up, from now on I will be doing the weekly warmups with the engine in gear. Any thoughts?
Tom

[sastanley]

Wow..Ok..I have never had that issue but if you have I would never question it!

[ndutton]

Shawn,
That episode was my own fault, the conditions didn't creep up on their own. My flax was old and worn and because I like a dry bilge I kept adjusting tighter and tighter, a little bit one month, a little more the next and so on. With the easy stuffing box access the Catalina 30 provides (some a little easier than others ) there was no good reason for putting off replacement. Another lesson learned the hard way.

edit: Don Casey's article on the subject

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/stuffing-box.asp

[hanleyclifford]

One drop every 4 seconds (at rest) is an acceptable rate.