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Stern gear


Bobbybass

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Hi all.

 

I'm not that familiar with this type of stern gear, so I'm asking you kind folk for advice.

 

If you look at my photo, you will see the adjustable part on the front....with two big nylock nuts.

 

The triangle part with the entry from the greaser in the middle....then...a big greasy mass  behind that. When I use the stern greaser, it bubbles at that junction where the big hunk of grease is.

I'm using a lot of grease at present.

 

I can't decide is I should tighten those two nuts down and it would stop that ?. In my mind..that joint ..prop tube.....shouldbe sealed to the triangle section and thus the grease should not come out at that point ?.

 

Advice please...and a huge thanks. 

IMG_20200829_132038.jpg

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No it won't. The grease is oozing out between the short stern tube and the gland assembly. These normally screw together so the gland assembly needs unscrewing and the thread sealed, maybe gas PTFE tape. Unless you know what you are doing I would suggest it may be easier to wait until its out of the water for your next blacking.

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Tightening the nuts will not help. You need to disconnect the copper grease pipe  and undo the two  nuts and bolts that hold the flange on the triangle bit to the bar.  Then rotate the whole triangle one full  turn clockwise.  It must be clockwise to tighten the triangle onto the thread on the bearing.  Refit grease pipe and see if that has cured the grease leak.  If not repeat.  When it has refit nuts and bolts and copper pipe.  Grease well and adjust the two front  nuts so you can just turn the shaft by hand.

 

If  turning the triangle clockwise does not cure it you will need to reseal the joint by turning the triangle anti clockwise till it comes off the bearing and then clean up the threads and apply PTFE tape or liquid sealant and screw it all back together again.  That is an out of the water job, unless you are desperate.

 

N

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Strange. If the grease squeezes out of there I would have thought the water would find its way in as well. As Tony says, those parts really should screw together. I would carefully wipe it clean and see if a thread is visible. If by some chance water starts to seep out of that joint at some time I would wrap some petro tape (toolstation 72819 - about £6 probably Screwfix as well) around the joint and finish it off with some well placed cable ties.  Its horrible greasy stuff but it has its uses.

Edited by Bee
added a bit
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If water seeps from the bearing tube to gland joint turning the greaser down should fill the bearing with grease and stop the seep, at least till you go boating.

A  stern tube that is seeping faster than the normal gland drip rate should have extra grease anyway as the extra water washes the oils out of the grease and reduces the lubrication of the bearing.

N

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As a stop gap, wind the joint with string and put a Jubilee clip over it.

I have unscrewed and resealed these and the joint next to the hull in the water but only on a pump out site so that I could cope with any water pouring in.

In fact you can even fit a new bearing this way if you don't panic. A greased rag around the shaft  next to the prop stops almost all the water coming in.

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When you reassemble, you might want to look at the nuts to right of photo.  Normally there are two on each of the bolts, to lock together.  At the moment the left hand nuts are not doing anything,  and the right hand pair look like locknuts, rather than the original matching pair.  

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1 hour ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

When you reassemble, you might want to look at the nuts to right of photo.  Normally there are two on each of the bolts, to lock together.  At the moment the left hand nuts are not doing anything,  and the right hand pair look like locknuts, rather than the original matching pair.  

 

With self locking nuts it is not unknown for the studs to unscrew from the gland. The nuts on the left are locking the studs into the casting so are doing something. I am not saying this is correct or good practice and I would not do it that way. I think if I found the studs unscrewing I would degrease and then use a Loctite product.

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53 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

With self locking nuts it is not unknown for the studs to unscrew from the gland. The nuts on the left are locking the studs into the casting so are doing something. I am not saying this is correct or good practice and I would not do it that way. I think if I found the studs unscrewing I would degrease and then use a Loctite product.

Yes, I should have thought of this as one of my bolts came a bit loose a few years ago. I used the two locked nuts to screw it back in...

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1 minute ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

Yes, I should have thought of this as one of my bolts came a bit loose a few years ago. I used the two locked nuts to screw it back in...

That's the proper way to do it. I know many have no idea about doing that ans what's more those of us who are practical often can't understand why something so obvious is not known.

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3 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

That's the proper way to do it. I know many have no idea about doing that ans what's more those of us who are practical often can't understand why something so obvious is not known.

Odd coincidence that only yesterday I replaced a stud on an engine using the two nuts technique. 

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I wonder if the fixings on the Left of the pic could be a clue. That flange thingy that the grease is coming from cannot be screwed in any further as the 'wings' welded to the hull will not allow it. And is the grease actually sitting in the gap between the two parts? I think I can see the end of the stern tube (not easy) and maybe the end of the flange? If that is the case I wonder if the whole thing is only held on by a couple of threads?  Hard to tell.

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14 minutes ago, Bee said:

I wonder if the fixings on the Left of the pic could be a clue. That flange thingy that the grease is coming from cannot be screwed in any further as the 'wings' welded to the hull will not allow it. And is the grease actually sitting in the gap between the two parts? I think I can see the end of the stern tube (not easy) and maybe the end of the flange? If that is the case I wonder if the whole thing is only held on by a couple of threads?  Hard to tell.

????

 

Posts 2 & 3 explain clearly what has caused the problem plus how to address the issue. 

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39 minutes ago, Bee said:

I wonder if the fixings on the Left of the pic could be a clue. That flange thingy that the grease is coming from cannot be screwed in any further as the 'wings' welded to the hull will not allow it. And is the grease actually sitting in the gap between the two parts? I think I can see the end of the stern tube (not easy) and maybe the end of the flange? If that is the case I wonder if the whole thing is only held on by a couple of threads?  Hard to tell.

I have no idea how you can see the end of the stern tube, even the most stupid boat fitter would not leave a gap for water to leak in. What is this flange? Perhaps annotate the photo. If you really can see a gap between the tube and  gland assembly then either the tube has snapped (unlikely) or there is a real danger of sinking if the grease in the tube and bearing allows water in. It is now vital that the OP probes what you think is a gap with the thinnest feeler gauge of a very thin piece of wire to establish it is real or an optical illusion.  I there is a gap then he needs a longer length of stern tube.

 

The reason I did not mention trying to tighten the joint was because I suspected the steel brackets may prevent it but the OP might get half a turn on it if he is are lucky or the ends of the brackets might bow enough to let it tighten it a bit more.

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There is a flange at the back of the gland with nuts and bolts to hold the gland still.

 

The OP needs to get a full turn, or multiples of, in order to get the existing grease tube to re connect to the fitting on the gland assy.  

It would also look odd  (but work OK)  with the gland adjusters not horizontal.even if the grease pipe reached. 

N

Edited by BEngo
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Just now, Tracy D'arth said:

I have never understood why the greaser connecting union is always put on the top where it gets stood on and damaged, much better underneath or to the side.

I bet the tube would snap if the OP tried to fit it in another position without getting new tube. I think it will have hardened by age.

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38 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I have never understood why the greaser connecting union is always put on the top where it gets stood on and damaged, much better underneath or to the side.

Cynic on.  Cos it is easiest to fit like that and the original boat builder does not have to worry about upkeep. Cynic off.

 

Even the hire fleets don't bother, so either they get little trouble or the gains from a protected position are not worth the hassle of fitting a pipe to the underside.  At least on top it is easy to inspect.

 

N

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To clarify, It looks to me as though the  gland casting is not screwed on properly. it might only be held on by a couple of turns on the thread and if you tried to screw it on any further it will foul on the little tabs welded onto the hull. why else would the grease emerge from there unless its a loose joint?

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1 hour ago, Bee said:

To clarify, It looks to me as though the  gland casting is not screwed on properly. it might only be held on by a couple of turns on the thread and if you tried to screw it on any further it will foul on the little tabs welded onto the hull. why else would the grease emerge from there unless its a loose joint?

My thoughts exactly.

 

Solution might be to:

unbolt the gland casting from the tabs,

cut off the tabs from the hull,

unscrew the gland casting completely,

apply ptfe tape to the threads on the stern tube,

refit gland casting onto stern tube and screw up tight, with the bolt holes in the 3 and 9 o'clock positions,

bolt tabs to gland casting,

weld tabs to hull.

  • Greenie 1
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Hi all..

 

Thank you for your input.

 

I removed the stern greaser pipe and then the two bolts attaching the bearing to the cross member.

 

I then loosened the packing nuts and unscrewed the entire bearing assembly from the stern tube...about 1.5 inches of thread exposed.

 

Washed it down to remove all grease....coated threads with Loctite 577 and screwed it back down.... reinserting the cross member bolts...the stern greaser and finally the two packing bolts.

 

Gave it a long run....over the past few days.

Totally fixed...and not a drop of water or grease now.

 

All fine.

 

Thank you all ?

 

Bob

 

  • Greenie 3
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On 01/09/2020 at 13:11, Tony Brooks said:

Thanks for the feedback. I suspected that is what you would need to do.

Yes....

 

It was far simpler than I had expected and the comments here gave me the confidence to tackle it.

 

Only took about an hour and a half.

 

Lucky I had a full tube of Loctite 577 but then...I wouldn't be without it.

My love life has been vastly improved by Loctite 577...

 

Thanks Tony.

 

Bob.

Edited by Bobbybass
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