Reply To: Stern glands

Hi Dave,

I saw your string on the HTOWOA web site and replied. Now I have a leaking deep sea seal!! I think they are both (I have two hydraulics like you) 15 years old and so I have decided to replace both of them. You seem to have done this (at least once!). Can you advise how to do it. Can you pull the shaft out of the hydraulic pump connector and then pull the whole thing through to the outside, without taking the prop off? On my set up the shafts go into a cast iron or steel jaw crimped together with 4 nuts with Allan Key hexagonal heads. If you loosen these does the shaft simply pull out or is it bolted on the end or have a cotter pin?

Otherwise I take it you have to take of the props (probably incredibly difficult after 15 years afloat), split the shaft from the pump (four standard bolts on the circular plate of the joint), remove the pump from the bilge cross plate and then pull the shaft through into the bilges, a lot more work! Can you advise?

Have you solved your problems yet, are you happy with the deep sea seals, I gathered your replacements wore out very quickly- how quick was that, did you find out why?

Hope you can help and all is going well with yours.

Best wishes,

Alastair