Clean out plug came out again

[Michael Guzzo]

So it happened again. About halfway through our day on Sunday one of my plugs became dislodged and my engine compartment started filling up with water. Thankfully I had been down this road before and noticed the familiar feel of the boat not cruising at the speed you would expect for the RPM levels I was at. I caught it before the water level reached the critical area which I believe to be the air intakes for the air filter boxes. However a portion of the bottom of my engines were submerged in saltwater which can’t be good. Me and a friend scooped all the water out while the bilge did what it could. I checked the oil and thankfully it looked fine (not milky white like last time). After we got all the water out both engines fired up no problem and we were on our way and the boat was running perfectly. When I got home and flushed the engines the overheat warning came on about 4 minutes into the flush and I have not tried again since. My questions are…

1. What would cause the overheat warning to come on? Is this just a coincidence that it came on this time? I sure hope so.

2. Can I and should I spray the engines off with freshwater and/or salt away since they were partially submerged in saltwater? A lot of electronics going on there so I am cautious.

3. Should I get an oil change to be safe?

4. Where can I get those pins that folks on here have mentioned to ensure that these plugs never fail on me again?

As always thank you very much for the informative responses that the nice people on here always provide.

 

[swatski]

EZ locks from @Cobra Jet Steering LLC

Sounds like you should be okay, def check the oil, but if it is not milky, the only thing I would worry about would be the effects of salt water intrusion on electronics, clamps, etc. I would buy a gallon of T-9 (Boeshield) to spray everything after cleanup.

 

[Zarrella]

Both @Cobra Jet Steering LLC and @JetBoatPilot sell the plug pins. I don't see any reason to change the oil if it shows no sign of water. Other then for peace of mind. Also, I would spray the engines outer surfaces with an anti corrosive such as T-9.

 

[Scottintexas]

I would be concerned about why your boat is flooding from a blown plug, normally a blown plug is just loss of thrust,
I would check your cleanout tubes to make sure they are attached and secured properly at both the top and bottom. This can be a major disaster as you've already experienced.

1. I would think the overheating is a coincidence, try to flush again and just monitor it closely, it will limit the rpm's before any damage is done so you should be safe as long as your paying attention

2. rinse the engines with fresh water, just don't have it on full blast everywhere,

3. I wouldn't change the oil unless you saw some discoloration or other reason to be worried,

4. cobra jet plug locks, you can google it or look at our FAQ tab

 

[Zarrella]

@swatski
You beat me to it! Lol

 

[Julian]

Engine overheat could just have been from not enough water pressure on the hose.

If you got water in from a blown plug, you do need to remove the clean out try and reattached and tighten the bottom of the hose.

You will also want to carefully check the edge of the clean out tube where the plug "dogs" lock in. Often it gets silicon in there from the factory when they silicon the bottom of the hose on. Scrape it out and ensure it is clean and free of obstructions.

 

[haknslash]

I think I'm going to swap out my EZ Lock for a simple stainless steel quick release pin or nicer T-handle locking release pin. My reason for it is that the EZ locks can be hard to remove sometimes as they can get in a bind when trying to squeeze them together. Same for installing as I do not install them on the cleanout plug and then push them into the manhole tube as I've had one not seat that well when I used to do it like that.

Anyone tried using a pin like these? As long as they are SS and of good quality I can't see any reason why something like this wouldn't solve the same issue and prevent the dogs from unlatching.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The ez lock will get tight if it stops a plug blowout and you need to push the t handle back down to release it also the lock must be on the plug before installing it in the hole and when the t handle is pushed down to lock the plug you need to visually see the ez lock close, the only way a plug can come loose with the ez lock on correctly is if someone took it upon themselves to drill the holes larger thus giving the lock more room and the dogs more room to move, I send a 9/64ths drill bit with the locks so people will use the correct size. I also send these videos so you understand how the locks work

and

Also the reason for the design of the EZ lock was to avoid having to deal with trying to install or remove a pin in the plug while it was down in the hole and the pin uses a much larger drill weakening the parts of the plug.

 

[haknslash]

Mine aren't getting tight from a plug blowout. It's just tight like one leg will get hung up in the drilled hole and it takes some finagling to get it out with my big paw in there lol. I've checked for burrs but nothing on the metal. I used to pre-install the EZ Lock (but not engage the dogs) prior to installing into the manhole tube but one time I don't think I got my plug seated that well or something happened and it come loose after leaving the dock. I like the product and it works as intended, I just think I can make my life a little easier by using a locking quick release pin.

 

[robert843]

@Michael Guzzo are your plugs difficult at all to remove or install? If so you may need a set of the Yamaha man hole repair kits that replace the bottom of the plugs. When I first got my boat they where difficult to remove and get in place now after replacing the bottoms a four year old kid could do both. Most (not all) of the time when I hear of plugs coming out it is at a point where this repair is needed and the plugs are starting to get a little difficult to seat or remove.

 

[Matt Phillips]

I'd agree with the previous post. My plugs were getting harder and harder to remove/lock and one day I had a blowout. I had a set of the rebuild plugs around and traded them out that night. The problem went away and now as someone said above, even a 4 year old can put them in and out.

 

[Michael Guzzo]

@Scottintexas Some people mentioned that the boat should not be flooding from a blown plug last time this happened and some disagreed and said they would expect it to flood from a blown plug so I am not sure what to think there. When I took it to the dealership and the head mechanic heard my story he was not surprised at what happened with a plug that was not properly installed. I will say it seems ridiculous Yamaha would design the boat in a way that such a catastrophic disaster could happen from a plug blowing or someone forgetting to install/not installing properly so I would tend to side with what you are saying. I will check the tubes though I am by no means an expert and do not exactly know what I should be seeing.



@robert843 I have not had any issues installing or removing the plugs. They were actually rebuilt just prior to me purchasing the boat so at 1st glance they appear to be in pretty good shape.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

yes those are usually the solution when the plugs get difficult to install, not very expensive either, the part number is FOR-67690-03

 

[swatski]

Mine aren't getting tight from a plug blowout. It's just tight like one leg will get hung up in the drilled hole and it takes some finagling to get it out with my big paw in there lol. I've checked for burrs but nothing on the metal. I used to pre-install the EZ Lock (but not engage the dogs) prior to installing into the manhole tube but one time I don't think I got my plug seated that well or something happened and it come loose after leaving the dock. I like the product and it works as intended, I just think I can make my life a little easier by using a locking quick release pin.

How would you install those (like a strait pin) inside the clean out tube? Would you drill a vertical channel into the plug?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

There are actually two types of blowouts , the violent one that launches the plug and blows open the rear hatch and the real bad one that cocks the plug sideways and that allows the engine compartment to flood while you keep driving the boat wondering why it is running poorly until it puts water in the engines and ruins them, I mention those two types of failures in my video.

 

[Michael Guzzo]

Yes the 2nd type is what has happened to me twice. When I open the hatch the plug is stuck sideways...

 

[Scottintexas]

@Michael Guzzo at the very least feel around the edges of the clean out tubes to see if they feel "attached" or tight,

you could pull the center hatch tray and can probably feel or see the clamp that holds the clean out tube in place at the top and see most of the bottom attachment

or you could pull the whole cleanout tray and make sure everything is securely in place.

also be sure to check the tabs that the dogs go into as Julian suggested since this has happened twice that's certainly a possibility,

 

[txav8r]

Mine aren't getting tight from a plug blowout. It's just tight like one leg will get hung up in the drilled hole and it takes some finagling to get it out with my big paw in there lol. I've checked for burrs but nothing on the metal. I used to pre-install the EZ Lock (but not engage the dogs) prior to installing into the manhole tube but one time I don't think I got my plug seated that well or something happened and it come loose after leaving the dock. I like the product and it works as intended, I just think I can make my life a little easier by using a locking quick release pin.

This is because your plug tried to blow out!!! The only reason the lock gets stuck, is because the pin arm got bent WHEN the plug tried to blow out. So you need to straighten out the pin so it goes in and out easily. Trust me, you had a blowout prevented by the EZ Locks! And if you still feel another form of lock will work better, feel free to offer them up for sale...because they are the only 99.9% prevention that is 100% easier than a straight pin, T handle, purple pin fix, you name it. The nice thing about EZ Locks, is that you install them with the plug unlocked, in your lap, so you can see it clearly and easily. Then when you insert the plug into the hole, and lock it, you can hear it click, and look for verification that both pins are touching the tips. Any other fix is going to take minutes if not way longer to install, and without the verifications of the plug actually locking. It is easy to get a pin arm bent just slightly, and make removal a little harder. Just spend 10 minutes on dry land fooling with it and get it working right again.

I agree with others, your cleanout seats should be pristine, and your plugs should go in easy, and out easy.

 

[haknslash]

Again it's not because my plug is trying to blow out. I can install the lock and not move anywhere and try to uninstall it and it hangs up. When you have a blowout the release will also let you know as you'll have to reset it in order to get the lock out. This is not what's happening for me. I think it's just because of the angle or something I have to get my hand in there or whatever but it hangs up. It's not a huge deal like I said and they do work. I just want something a little easier to get access to and I think a pin would work for me. They are cheap so I'll try it out and see how it goes.

 

[txav8r]

And again, at some point, it either tried to blow, and bent the pin tip, or it just got bent in handling it. I would advise against redrilling or widening the holes. I would just try to use a mirror and see what the alignment is. Then you can see what you need to do to correct it. Something carried in your compartment or even when removing them, could have bent it and be causing the issue. But mine got bent long ago by a blowout and that is how I know it can bend it slightly, when the plug unlocks, the cams try to open, and are prevented by the stainless pins, but that doesn't mean that the force from unlocking didn't cause a ridge or slight bend in the EZ Lock itself.