Another Clean-Out Plug Thread

[CastawayRK]

I'm for sure on the beeswax bandwagon. I pull the cleanout plugs after almost every trip. The beeswax lasts way longer that the pool o-ring goop I was putting on at first. No water issues in there with either, but after 4 or 5 trips they would start getting harder to turn with the o-ring goop, probably 10 trips now with the beeswax and they just glide right out

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I'm for sure on the beeswax bandwagon. I pull the cleanout plugs after almost every trip. The beeswax lasts way longer that the pool o-ring goop I was putting on at first. No water issues in there with either, but after 4 or 5 trips they would start getting harder to turn with the o-ring goop, probably 10 trips now with the beeswax and they just glide right out

There you go and if you remove the rubber caps on your cable ends / push some bees wax up inside of the cable housing and then reinstall the cap it will keep more of the water out of the cable making them last a lot longer.

 

[David Martin]

No water on top of my plugs................The former owner had dealer service the 240SX first 7 years the dealer used spray white lithium grease on the plugs and the metal tubes as well.. As you can see its ugly but it water tight ........No water on top and the no corrosion on the tubes. Hear are a couple of picts of 11 year old plugs(last 4 years of my ownership in salt water) I just wipe the tubes (still sticky with grease) re-sprayed......I only spray once every 6 months.

Looks ugly but I going by the old saying "if it not broke don't fix it"......... so white lithium it is.

 

[CastawayRK]

There you go and if you remove the rubber caps on your cable ends / push some bees wax up inside of the cable housing and then reinstall the cap it will keep more of the water out of the cable making them last a lot longer.

Thanks

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

No water on top of my plugs................The former owner had dealer service the 240SX first 7 years the dealer used spray white lithium grease on the plugs and the metal tubes as well.. As you can see its ugly but it water tight ........No water on top and the no corrosion on the tubes. Hear are a couple of picts of 11 year old plugs(last 4 years of my ownership in salt water) I just wipe the tubes (still sticky with grease) re-sprayed......I only spray once every 6 months.

Looks ugly but I going by the old saying "if it not broke don't fix it"......... so white lithium it is.

I use whit lithium spray on grease to coat my engines and all my electrical connections before they ever hit the water also the pump housing.

 

[jcb1977]

Isn't white lithium for metal on metal applications? I thought it would be break down rubber/plastics over time.....I'm not sure exactly what the cleanout plugs are made of but seems like there is some plastic/rubber in there.

I'm definitely in on the bees wax on the cleanout plugs though.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Isn't white lithium for metal on metal applications? I thought it would be break down rubber/plastics over time.....I'm not sure exactly what the cleanout plugs are made of but seems like there is some plastic/rubber in there.

I'm definitely in on the bees wax on the cleanout plugs though.

I use it to coat the aluminum and to keep water from the plastic electrical connections, ben doing it for many years but not on the clean out plugs, although white lithium does not have a solvent in it to my knowledge the bees wax just holds up against water way better than anything else I have used and I started using that for marine use a long time ago I like white lithium grease on the engines because it leaves a protective coating and it stays there.

 

[TeenGee]

Yesterday, I had a chance to test the wax sealing.
One port was half full of water after 3 hours. The other was dry. I reapplied wax to the port that leaked. Will see if that keeps it dry.

 

[TeenGee]

Yesterday I had 2 dry ports.
Bee's wax is the BOSS!

 

[DaveShip55]

Oh wow, definitely going to try this Beeswax trick! My ports have been leaking since day one.. as some have said on here, when I spoke to the dealer about the issue, they stated, it’s water coming up over the stern….. ummm, no it’s not!….(on the new 25’ boats, that port ledge is WAY higher than my old ‘05 230HO) Then they said they’ve never heard of an issue with the port seals leaking…. Even though I’ve read many threads on line of exactly this!…. Mine only leaks when going 35mph plus…. But mine leaks enough to fill the tray and eventually makes its way into the bilge…. Then I see about 3-5 gallons of water being pumped out!…. Truly frustrating! Wish me luck with the toilet seal wax!….

 

[TeenGee]

As long as you get the wax in the groove shown in post 19 the only luck involved is not getting the wax on you.

 

[jacoviii]

I believe that from a stop and doing a hard launch that this is where air was being induced into the pumps on my 255xd.

 

[drewkaree]

I would love for someone to throw a GoPro in the cleanout tray, showing water coming up through the plugs. Thus far, the footage from a member here shows that it's coming in through the drain fitting on the cleanout tray.

If they're still installing drain fittings in that area on the newer boat, it'd be interesting to see if they figured out how to keep water out of there, or if it's just business as usual from Yamaha, and they're not gonna address it. It doesn't seem like the drain fitting is needed at all, since the water can just drain into the cleanout ports, and be eliminated by pulling the plug and letting the tube empty out onto the ground below.

 

[DaveShip55]

Stupid question, how exactly do you get poop ring wax off the ring and spread it inside the port?…. I’m guessing just scrape it off with your fingers and spread it around the port? Like butter on toast?….
And how much do ya spread?
Thanks!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Stupid question, how exactly do you get poop ring wax off the ring and spread it inside the port?…. I’m guessing just scrape it off with your fingers and spread it around the port? Like butter on toast?….
And how much do ya spread?
Thanks!

No idea what you are talking about I use bees wax made by real bees I have been using my index finger to apply the bees wax to boat parts and machine parts as well as grinding stones for about 35 years with no ill effects.

 

[drewkaree]

Stupid question, how exactly do you get poop ring wax off the ring and spread it inside the port?…. I’m guessing just scrape it off with your fingers and spread it around the port? Like butter on toast?….
And how much do ya spread?
Thanks!

Pretty much just like you said. It comes in a plastic donut, if you wanna keep your manicure looking fresh, throw a glove on and apply it like anything else that you'd grease, otherwise just bare fingers. Spread it until you think it's "done". Insert the plug, and excess will likely get scraped off. If you don't use enough, it seems like it'd show up pretty quick. Experience will be your best teacher. Just get the cheapest toilet wax ring, shouldn't be more than $2 or so. Anything else is simply a larger/thicker ring, or it's got a plastic horn in it for toilet use - something you won't need for this application so it's just a waste of money.

 

[DaveShip55]

Pretty much just like you said. It comes in a plastic donut, if you wanna keep your manicure looking fresh, throw a glove on and apply it like anything else that you'd grease, otherwise just bare fingers. Spread it until you think it's "done". Insert the plug, and excess will likely get scraped off. If you don't use enough, it seems like it'd show up pretty quick. Experience will be your best teacher. Just get the cheapest toilet wax ring, shouldn't be more than $2 or so. Anything else is simply a larger/thicker ring, or it's got a plastic horn in it for toilet use - something you won't need for this application so it's just a waste of money.

Awesome!!!!!! Thanks so much!.. I’ll definitely be trying this!

 

[TeenGee]

I would love for someone to throw a GoPro in the cleanout tray, showing water coming up through the plugs. Thus far, the footage from a member here shows that it's coming in through the drain fitting on the cleanout tray.

If they're still installing drain fittings in that area on the newer boat, it'd be interesting to see if they figured out how to keep water out of there, or if it's just business as usual from Yamaha, and they're not gonna address it. It doesn't seem like the drain fitting is needed at all, since the water can just drain into the cleanout ports, and be eliminated by pulling the plug and letting the tube empty out onto the ground below.

With the drain area back off the swim platform, I think the drain in the clean-out tray is not needed. I stuffed a paper towel into the drain in the clean-out tray.

 

[TeenGee]

I believe that from a stop and doing a hard launch that this is where air was being induced into the pumps on my 255xd.

If water can get in from below the plug and there is no water on top of the plug, air can get sucked into the pump when hard launching.

 

[drewkaree]

With the drain area back off the swim platform, I think the drain in the clean-out tray is not needed. I stuffed a paper towel into the drain in the clean-out tray.

Yamaha designed that to be "wet storage", so they threw the drain in there to allow water OUT, but the problem with the design, as seen over MANY boats and owners on this forum, is that it allows more water IN than it's worth. IMO, the cleanout plugs themselves allow the water out at the end of the day, so I'm with you on the unnecessary drain. A paper towel will only get wet, ball up, tear, and generally make a bigger mess than it'll solve. Get a plug (rubber or cork) to stick in there. It won't break down like the paper towel, and it can be reused for ages. Others have done this as well, with very good results.