Stuck cleanout plugs

[sailorkane]

More on the perils of Pauline...... Dogs are free, but plug won't come out yet. I bent a 1" putty knife into a curve to match the outer diameter of the plug. Been tapping it around the edge of the plug. Got it down pretty far where the dogs are and a bit more. Then alternate ice, pulling (I used ratchet strap and cross bar), tapping on the edge of the plug, and PB Blaster and CLR. Still no joy. Wondering if removing the screws would allow the top to pull out? It looks to me, from the video, that the edge of the top part is only perhaps 1/4" thick. If I drive the putty knife in the edge to a depth of 1/4", the top part would be freed. Then remove the screws and It should release the top??? I have a new bottom part in hand, but would prefer not to destroy the $200 top part, if possible......

 

[Ericd]

Good decision Capt.
Enjoyed following your progress.
Only two beers - chain worked too good!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

if I understand you correctly the doge are released so try the floor jack and a board from under the boat and see if it releases

 

[sailorkane]

Well, the trials continue. Tried to push the plug out from the bottom. But the 3 allen screws that hold in the access plate are frozen and PO or previous mechanic mostly stripped one of them, so removing them will be a challenge. And the angle just won't let me put a board against the plug and jack it up. Inclined to give up.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Wow this is becoming a real chore Guess it will take a tree limb and a come along or some other way to jack it out of that boat did you try a 5 lb slide hammer I use one I designed for getting the pumps out of the boat when they won't budge works every time .

 

[IN2H2O]

I just used the floor jack method on both my stuck plugs.. it took a bunch of pumps and I was scared to death and then they suddenly popped free without damage. These plugs are stronger than you think. Just make sure the rope is vertical and the dogs are retracted and you likly won't break anything. Only took a half beer to do both of them so kinda disappointed in that ?

 

[sailorkane]

I just used the floor jack method on both my stuck plugs.. it took a bunch of pumps and I was scared to death and then they suddenly popped free without damage. These plugs are stronger than you think. Just make sure the rope is vertical and the dogs are retracted and you likly won't break anything. Only took a half beer to do both of them so kinda disappointed in that ?

Could you describe your method of jacking out the plugs in more detail? I cut a piece of wood about 1"x1"x about 16" and tried to prop it against the plug and used an automotive floor jack, but the wood just slid on the plug. Again, I could not remove the access plate in the bottom, so my angle was a little worse than it should have been.

 

[IN2H2O]

Could you describe your method of jacking out the plugs in more detail? I cut a piece of wood about 1"x1"x about 16" and tried to prop it against the plug and used an automotive floor jack, but the wood just slid on the plug. Again, I could not remove the access plate in the bottom, so my angle was a little worse than it should have been.

pictures worth a 1000 words. For my old LS2000 I had to rotate the jack 90 from shown but worked the same. just insure rope is not pulling an an angle and the dogs are retracted and pump away. Worked on 2 of my boats so far. The wood is just to protect the boat by spreadding the load across a larger surface area.

 

[Julian]

If you have bought the rebuild kit......why take all this time trying to extract them whole, vs just disassemble it in place and drill out the stuck lower half?

 

[sailorkane]

pictures worth a 1000 words. For my old LS2000 I had to rotate the jack 90 from shown but worked the same. just insure rope is not pulling an an angle and the dogs are retracted and pump away. Worked on 2 of my boats so far. The wood is just to protect the boat by spreadding the load across a larger surface area.

Awesome. Thanks for the photos. I didn't realize you jacked it out from above.

 

[sailorkane]

If you have bought the rebuild kit......why take all this time trying to extract them whole, vs just disassemble it in place and drill out the stuck lower half?

I'm not sure what happens if I remove the 6 screws in the top of the plug. If that freed up the top half and I can just destructively remove the bottom part, I would do that. If I remove the 6 screws and it doesn't work to remove the top half, I'm screwed.

 

[Julian]

This video will show you how the plugs look when you take them apart. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to take them apart. Others have done just this.

 

[sailorkane]

Very nice video. Thanks. I got buyin from wife to try it. If it doesn't work, boat is incapacitated for a while until I buy the top part, so need concurrence. I'll let you know what happens. It should release, since I've run the putty knife around virtually the entire edge of the top part.

 

[sailorkane]

pictures worth a 1000 words. For my old LS2000 I had to rotate the jack 90 from shown but worked the same. just insure rope is not pulling an an angle and the dogs are retracted and pump away. Worked on 2 of my boats so far. The wood is just to protect the boat by spreadding the load across a larger surface area.

My version of your jack method. Obviously my ratchet strap was not strong enough. I removed the 8 screws, applied the jack you see below and cranked until it popped. The tray, spring and metal bar ended up in the bottom part. The crud looks like concrete!! So, now trying to decide how to destructively remove the bottom part. Probably drill it out? Or maybe drill a hole in the middle, put a ring bolt through the hole and apply a fender washer and nut from below? Then crank with the jack as before? Or is that getting too creative?

 

[IN2H2O]

Is it possible to put the two half's together and pull it out with the jack?

 

[sailorkane]

OK. Brute force has worked in the past, why not now? Combination of drill, chisel and recipricating saw. Initially it fell down onto the shaft and didn't want to come back up, but I hooked it with the ratchet strap hook and pulled it back into the shaft and then cut it up. Success!!!!! Now just cleanup, grease it so it comes back out. THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE ADVICE ON THIS FORUM!!! WITHOUT IT, I'D HAVE BEEN STUCK.....

 

[buckbuck]

Top half appears to still be in good shape.
Glad you got it out.

 

[sailorkane]

Top half appears to still be in good shape.
Glad you got it out.

Yes, I think so. A little more cleanup and reassemble and should be good to go.

 

[adamncincy]

@IN2H2O that's hilarious & genius!! :-D

Are you in Indiana?

 

[sailorkane]

OK. So much for the starboard one!!! That's the good news. The bad news? The port one is worse. The starboard was the easier to remove. On the port side, the dogs have not released. The "push to unlock" plastic button just pulls out of the plug. So, I suspect the Plastic bits in the plug that release the T-bar may be broken. The T-bar will not move up at all, and the dogs are frozen. At this point, I think salvaging the plug is unlikely and I'm on the hook to buy another entire plug. I'd love to salvage as many spare parts from it as possible, like t-bar, dogs, etc (some of the parts on the SB plug are really corroded). Any ideas on the best way to get it out? Wonder if running a big drill bit down the "push to unlock" hole would release the T-bar and dogs? Any other ideas?