Teflon stuffing box/shaft tube liners -- good or bad?

[Brushless55]

Ok, I have a .187 flex shaft so 1/4" or a bit bigger should do the trick...

[martin]

K&S brass stuffing tube O/D sizes with teflon,7/32" for .130", 1/4" for .150", 9/32" for .187", 11/32" for .250"

Without teflon 3/16" for .130, 7/32" for .150", 1/4" for .187", 5/16" for .250".

[Old School]

I know this is an old thread but wondering if anything conclusive has been reached. The reason I ask is a stinger drive assembly I was interested in made no mention of a stuffing tube teflon liner. I questioned the seller (an eBay seller specialising in racing/competition craft) and his reply was that the teflon liner was not supplied and actually not needed.

The common sense part of me wants to believe a liner would be useful in preventing any wear on the stuffing tube. A damaged/ worn liner would be easier to replace than a stuffing tube. Is a liner just a hangup from days of old or has the ultimate quest for absolute speed over ruled the need for seemingly redundant parts in the drive train?

[Fluid]

There is no concensus on liner vs no liner, both methods work. Personally I haven't used a Teflon liner in any of my non-RTR boats for over a decade. Some of those boats had well over 50 two-minute race heats on them with the same cable and I have never replaced a brass stuffing tube due to wear. I use 70W synthetic gear oil exclusively, and I seldom re-lube the cable between heats. Limited testing I did some years ago showed a slight frictional reduction without the Teflon liner. That said, some very fast boats use a liner......


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[Old School]

Thankyou. I suppose then it is down to personal choice.

[1945dave]

I guess besides the personal choice concept, I belief everyone agrees wearing out a brass unlined shaft tube is very unlikely provided some attempt to lubricate the flex cable is done. I am still waiting for any documented verification that someone has actually ever worn out a stuffing tube. Now I will also support the reason in part is by our very nature in this hobby that old boats don't wear out they get replaced before then, as we become dissatisfied and desire new technology and better performance.

[CraigP]

I've only heard of "sudden failures", not actually wearing out. As we all know, sudden failures are a failure in the setup, or the way the flex shaft was prepared. Seems with proper maintenance and preparation, the stuffing tube has a long life.

[Old School]

Many thanks gentlemen, food for thought.