Stuffing box and packing E-27

[rod sanburn]

Its time to renew the packing. My 74 E-27 has a A-4. It has the standard bronze nut and gland w/ lock nut. I've done this many times on other equipment. The kicker is the distance to the back of the tranny on the A4 is min. There does not appear to be a coupling. There is a piece of black hose with nose clamps conecting the 3/4 prop shaft to the output shaft of the A4. Is this common on E-27's? The access sucks so before I remove the fuel tank and High lift muffler to get a better view by crawing down in the cockpit locker, I would like some input from the group. Thanks for your time. Rod S

 

[Dave Hussey]

I posted some pictures on this site when I did the same thing last year. There isnt a lot of room. You might have better access from the quarter berth hatch. Thats how I did mine. If I pull the shaft again, I think I will cut about a half inch from the threaded part of the stuffing box for a little more maneuvering room. Good luck.

 

[Glyn Judson]

Getting more room for the stuffing box.

Rod, Look at Dave's photo and that was about all the space I had too. In fact when a previous owner replaced the Yanmar 2QM15 with the present Yanmar 3GMF, the added block length (from two cylinder to 3 cylinder) made it impossible to unscrew the cup far enough to remove the flax. At a haul out I had the prop shaft removed and I shortened the Fiberglas stern tube by about 1 1/2", the most I could remove without compromising the securing of the rubber hose with two clamps. That gave me more than enough room to get in there to change flax. If you choose to use the new generation of Teflon impregnated, synthetic flax along with that Teflon putty (comes in green or is it blue sticks in a film can), you can count on a minimum of 2-3 seasons of use drip-free without need of readjusting the cup tighter. We put A LOT of hours on our engine every year and I can't even remember when I last adjusted mine. Hope this helps, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[rod sanburn]

Stuffing box

Glyn,Dave
Thanks for the input. My battery box is in the forward quarter hatch, of course,. Its fiberglass and I can pull it out. I had forgotten that I had it out to modify for larger batteries. I must have had a senior moment. It still amazes me how many differences there are year to year in our boats. I'm still wondering if someone in the past cut the output shaft on the A4 and reconnected with the small piece of 3/4 hose and clamps. I will make it my project for the next view days. I will try to get some pics and post them. Rod