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.
Propeller shaft will not turn
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Originally posted by billvancleve View PostPropeller 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.Last edited by sastanley; 10-03-2015, 11:07 PM.-Shawn
"Holiday" - '89 Alura 35 #109
"Twice Around" - '77 C-30, #511 with original A-4 & MMI manifold - SOLD! (no longer a two boat owner!!)
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Originally posted by sastanley View Post...I do still find it curious that the packing material could cause enough friction to stall the engine.@(^.^)@ Ed
1977 Pearson P-323 "Dolce Vita"
with rebuilt Atomic-4
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Originally posted by sastanley View PostI do still find it curious that the packing material could cause enough friction to stall the engine.
Neil
1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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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
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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
Last edited by ndutton; 10-05-2015, 08:32 AM.Neil
1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others
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