Drive Line Lube & Removal or Not?

[SweetAccord]

Ok I know this topic has been discussed a lot weather grease or lube. In the last few years I've seen new innovations of sealed lubing with grease/oil fittings you can install on the stuffing tube. What I wish is get opinions on or advice is on the following if using oil not grease:

1. If using a Wire Drive; if you have a way of lubing via an oiler down or inside the stuffing tube, do you really ever need to remove the wire drive or can you just leave it in permanently? If you have to remove it why?

2. If using a Flex Drive; if you have a way of lubing via an oiler down or inside the stuffing tube, do you really ever need to remove the flex drive or can you just leave it in permanently? If you have to remove it why? I suspect this one is because the flex drives rust and lose shape over time leaving them installed in a bended shape.

What is the advantage of these stuffing tube oilers, to be just less maintenance during a day's run, or a solution to not have to keep removing the drive and have to worry about the motor coupler losing a connection with the driveline weather you use a wire drive or a flex cable? I'm kind of on the fence on this subject. I just keep wondering for where a wire drive can be used why not just use that and never have to worry about removal or losing a drive line when you can keep it inspapped and lubed too? I know it's all a different story with grease as over time it gets mucked up and you need to clean it out but with oil I don't see that happening.

Any opinions experience is welcome.

[Fluid]

Oilers and stuffing tube seals are not needed in properly rigged oval boats. Sport boats which run for 4-8 minutes, can't say. I lube my cables (no Teflon liner) with gear oil once a day and run three heats with no problem. None of my club members use them and their boats are dry too. The seals are just one more thing to fail, and our cables last....a long time.

Flex cables must must be removed after each day to prevent rust, they do not take a set but they do rust. A rusty cable will fail, sooner or later.



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[Peter A]

I run teflon liners and an oiler on all of my boats. Why? Because it works for me. My petrol offshore boat uses the same setup and has an oil reservoir to feed the shaft in races that can last up to one hour, and I have run that long non-stop. I very rarely pull out my flexes, usually only when I am needing to do something to the driveline. After running for the day a quiet spin on the bench until the oil pushes out any remaining water. I use chain and bar oil as it is designed for the extreme conditions of a chainsaw bar and 'sticks' to the steel flex pretty well. I also haven't rusted out a flex or had one fail in several years yet either. My 0.02.

[SweetAccord]

I run teflon liners and an oiler on all of my boats. Why? Because it works for me. My petrol offshore boat uses the same setup and has an oil reservoir to feed the shaft in races that can last up to one hour, and I have run that long non-stop. I very rarely pull out my flexes, usually only when I am needing to do something to the driveline. After running for the day a quiet spin on the bench until the oil pushes out any remaining water. I use chain and bar oil as it is designed for the extreme conditions of a chainsaw bar and 'sticks' to the steel flex pretty well. I also haven't rusted out a flex or had one fail in several years yet either. My 0.02.

That's what I was thinking exactly how it would be.

[Fluid]

My petrol offshore boat uses the same setup and has an oil reservoir to feed the shaft in races that can last up to one hour, and I have run that long non-stop....

Apples and oranges. Usually much less power and lower rpm than US FE boats. Glad it works for you, but much different.


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