Greaser Problems

[MrBadger]

Hello fellow boaters, I am in a right pickle. After attempting to repack my grease gland, I am having issues.

 

There is rarely tension and if there is, the bolt/olive at the bottom leak or once, they pushed out. 

 

I disconnected the original connection because it was not pushing through to the end of the line near the prop shaft, now the grease does come through, albeit slowly. After reconnecting it, I just cant get it to not leak outside the pipe. The olive is the right fitting, it just about fits on to the tube. I screw the bolt around it tightly to no avail.

 

Is there a way to manually grease until I can get to a workshop/chandlery?

 

Has anyone else had similar issues?

 

I am worried about moving but I need to!

 

Disclaimer: I am one year into living aboard and I am a mechanical idiot.

 

Many thanks!

[Bod]

A photograph of your greaser will help to get correct information.

 

Bod

[MrBadger]

41 minutes ago, Bod said:

A photograph of your greaser will help to get correct information.

 

Bod

Thanks Bod, here you go

[ditchcrawler]

How did you get the nut off with the olive still clamped on?

[Alan de Enfield]

Your nut should be on the pipe 'behind' the olive so when you tighten it up it pulls the olive inside the threaded housing (where the grease is jutting out on the big brass tube.

[MrBadger]

11 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Your nut should be on the pipe 'behind' the olive so when you tighten it up it pulls the olive inside the threaded housing (where the grease is jutting out on the big brass tube.

Yes, I had done this, but it seemed to still leak. It is an 8mm olive and just about goes on to the tube. Is it possible I put the olive on the wrong way?

12 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

How did you get the nut off with the olive still clamped on?

I didn't I was just playing around with the olive on the tube has I am running out of ideas and confused lol

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, MrBadger said:

Yes, I had done this, but it seemed to still leak. It is an 8mm olive and just about goes on to the tube. Is it possible I put the olive on the wrong way?

I didn't I was just playing around with the olive on the tube has I am running out of ideas and confused lol

 

It should be imposible to get the nut of the pipe when there is an olive.

 

Suggest you get a new length of pipe, slide the 2 nuts (one for each end - ensure they are facing in the correct direction) put the olive over the pipe and crimp it down using the nut to pull it into the fitting.

[Rincewind]

The 'olive' can be fitted either way round, check that there is a 'shoulder' on one end of the nut that the 'olive' cannot pass through.  

The plastic / nylon pipe may have distorted or hardened (due to age or overtightening).  If there is enough slack in the pipe, try cutting approx. 15mm off the end with a sharp knife and then reassemble.   If you cannot push the 'olive' onto the 'new' section of pipe, the olive will be distorted and you will need a new one.  It should be a close but sliding fit, ensure the pipe buts up fully inside the brass fitting. Do not overtighten. Just "nip" it enough that you cannot pull the tube out by hand.

If that fails, follow Alans advice and buy a new section of pipe and new olives.

 

 

 

 

[pete.i]

I would think you would need inserts if that pipe is plastic otherwise the olive will not crush and the pipe will collapse. Something like this:-

 

https://hgvdirect.co.uk/pack-tube-inserts-8mm-dia-pipe-6mm-id-p-40063.html

[ditchcrawler]

11 minutes ago, pete.i said:

I would think you would need inserts if that pipe is plastic otherwise the olive will not crush and the pipe will collapse. Something like this:-

 

https://hgvdirect.co.uk/pack-tube-inserts-8mm-dia-pipe-6mm-id-p-40063.html

They don't use inserts.

[BEngo]

Replace the nylon pipe with 8mm (or equivalent imperial)  copper tube.  Don't  overtighten it.

 

Copper tube lasts better.

 

N

[agg221]

2 minutes ago, BEngo said:

8mm (or equivalent imperial)  copper tube.

5/16", although I am currently finding 8mm soft copper much easier to get hold of than 5/16". If you do go with copper, make sure it is described as 'soft' or 'fully annealed' as it can then be bent to shape in awkward spaces with nothing more than fingers.

 

Alec

[pete.i]

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

They don't use inserts.

It wouldn't use inserts if it was copper pipe and assuming that pipe is plastic then as suggested it would be better changing it to copper. But if it stays as plastic then how do you think the olive would crush down to provide a seal if there is nothing to for it to crush too? That is why it would need an insert. Anyway I wont be looking at this thread again because these threads nearly always end as arguments.

[BWM]

It may be that your packing has been over tightened leaving no room for the grease to enter the stern assembly. Dig out, replace and don't tighten any more than necessary. As others have said, a new run of soft copper pipe and correct sized olives is a useful upgrade. 

[Tracy D'arth]

What parts have you changed?

Is the plastic pipe bent/crimped/melted somewhere?

If you loosed the other end does grease then come out when you screw the greaser?

How hard are you screwing it down?

8mm and 5/16" are so close that they are interchangeable in this application.

You do not need inserts in nylon pipe for this task.

[MrBadger]

Nothing I try is working I have two size olives 6mm will only go on the very end no further and the 8mm is too big and it leaks. I'm desperate is there a way to manually add grease without the greaser so I can get to a chandlery I'm just covered in grease and failing and it's really getting me down.

[Tracy D'arth]

Cut the end off the pipe.

Put nut on pipe.

Put 8mm olive on pipe.

Push pipe into greaser as far as it will go.

Tighten nut into greaser, crushing the olive onto the pipe. Don't go mad with the spanner, check that pipe will not pull out once tightened.

Test, if leaky, tighten a bit more/

Are you sure of the sizes of your olives? It looks like 8mm or 5/16" pipe to me. 6mm olive should be nowhere near fitting on the pipe.

[ditchcrawler]

49 minutes ago, pete.i said:

It wouldn't use inserts if it was copper pipe and assuming that pipe is plastic then as suggested it would be better changing it to copper. But if it stays as plastic then how do you think the olive would crush down to provide a seal if there is nothing to for it to crush too? That is why it would need an insert. Anyway I wont be looking at this thread again because these threads nearly always end as arguments.

Well its worked for me for 20 years and many 100s of other boaters 

[agg221]

How far are you from a chandlery?

 

If it is only a few hours and the stern gland is not dripping excessively then I wouldn't worry about it and would just travel. It won't do it any harm to have a little less grease than ideal for a brief time.

 

Alec

[Rincewind]

 

You could remove the fitting from the prop shaft stuffing box and fit one of these grease nipples, the nipple threads come in different sizes so take the stuffing box fitting with you when you buy one (or carefully measure the outside diameter of the thread), but you would need a suitable grease gun.

I echo what agg221 suggests, its not a big deal if you are not going far.

[ditchcrawler]

Or one of these Percy: Greasomatic automatic stern greaser (nbpercy.blogspot.com)

[MrBadger]

5 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Cut the end off the pipe.

Put nut on pipe.

Put 8mm olive on pipe.

Push pipe into greaser as far as it will go.

Tighten nut into greaser, crushing the olive onto the pipe. Don't go mad with the spanner, check that pipe will not pull out once tightened.

Test, if leaky, tighten a bit more/

Are you sure of the sizes of your olives? It looks like 8mm or 5/16" pipe to me. 6mm olive should be nowhere near fitting on the pipe.

Tried this repeatedly but something seems amiss with the crushing the olive onto the pipe. I can do the nut up with the 8mm on the 6mm won't go on at all. I can't find. 7mm for sale anywhere 😭

[Tony Brooks]

This still fails to answer the question of how you got the nut off the pipe with  the olive in place - that should be impossible. Conclusion, wrong nut, an idiot has drilled the centre of the nut out, somehow the centre of the nut has broken away, but no signs of it on the pipe.

[agg221]

6 minutes ago, MrBadger said:

Tried this repeatedly but something seems amiss with the crushing the olive onto the pipe. I can do the nut up with the 8mm on the 6mm won't go on at all. I can't find. 7mm for sale anywhere 😭

Can you post a close-up photograph of the offending bits. What I really want to see is exactly what size everything is relative to one another, ie by just how much the 6mm won't go on, and just how loose the 8mm is. I have an idea what the problem may be, but would rather confirm it from a photo if possible than send you on another wild goose chase.

 

Alec

[MrBadger]

2 minutes ago, agg221 said:

Can you post a close-up photograph of the offending bits. What I really want to see is exactly what size everything is relative to one another, ie by just how much the 6mm won't go on, and just how loose the 8mm is. I have an idea what the problem may be, but would rather confirm it from a photo if possible than send you on another wild goose chase.

 

Alec

Thanks Alex I will do this