Clean outs hard to install

[sunbyrned]

I just pour water from a water bottle on mine and they slip right in.

 

[DRAT]

Well when your out on the lake and a stick stuck in jet. 2 of us tried to get them them in for a half hour. Next hammer comes out. I have them out drying and got some silicone to lube them. I’ll try that.

Been there myself. You don’t know until they are out how hard they can be to get back in. I jammed mine back in the same way you did. But I agree with @Julian, they are too far gone. Save yourself more trouble and order the rebuild “kits” (they are actually just parts and the only thing you really need are the rubber o-rings).

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I just pour water from a water bottle on mine and they slip right in.

@sunbyrned ......and you really expect us to believe that's water in that bottle?

 

[Zizzou 192]

No amount of lubrication now will fix swollen plugs. As DRAT says below, order the rebuild kits (SUPER EASY) and just rebuild them. If it takes you longer than 20 minutes to do it, its because you stopped for a beer between unscrewing the two plugs! Trust me....you will be delighted with how they work after you replace the bottom halfs (that is all it involves...6-8 screws on each plug)

There fortunately are a couple of lubricants that can fix swollen plugs.

Cold water / ice seems to do it temporarily according to this thread and various clean out plug threads on this forum.

Lubegard Zer0, which I have used to shrink the plug O - ring on the water and use. In place of the Yamaha recommenced silicone spray for plug preventative maintenance.

A solution of soapy water may also work to unstick the o- ring. This has been used in the pool industry to unstick similar o - ringed plugs.

Clean.
Dry.
Lube.
Emergency Shrink.
Rebuild.

 

[drewkaree]

I know the OP has an older boat, when did they change the cleanout plug design? I'm REALLY puzzled at the guys with 2020's that are having problems - I've left mine in since I got the boat, no problems with them sticking whatsoever, and I'm hard pressed to figure out how the new plugs are sticking at only 4 weeks. The new design seems, to me, to have solved whatever issues the old plug designs had.

Is it possible that I just have cleanout plugs that are bad (but work perfectly fine and won't give me problems due to them being "bad")?

 

[Zizzou 192]

I know the OP has an older boat, when did they change the cleanout plug design? I'm REALLY puzzled at the guys with 2020's that are having problems - I've left mine in since I got the boat, no problems with them sticking whatsoever, and I'm hard pressed to figure out how the new plugs are sticking at only 4 weeks. The new design seems, to me, to have solved whatever issues the old plug designs had.

Is it possible that I just have cleanout plugs that are bad (but work perfectly fine and won't give me problems due to them being "bad")?

I have 2 ideas about why this could be.

1. The lake. It seems nuts, but it happened to me. Over the last couple of years, i’ve Wet slipped in2 different lakes. The lake with less clarity and lots more organic matter swells the plugs up within days, and requires lubing the plugs about once a month to get them safely removable and replaceable. The lake with more clarity and less organic matter does not even require lube to keep the plug working.

2. I believe the screw in plugs may demand tighter tolerances than the push button plugs. The push button plugs work kind of like an expanding wall anchor, the screw in plugs are more like a finely Threaded screw. The screw would certainly be less tolerant of debris in the threads and much more sensitive to the amount of torque transferred to the head.

 

[scokill]

You can't fix swollen plugs. Anything is just a temporary bandaid. You don't need lube of any kind. Pull them after every use and turn on side. I rebuilt mine about 8 years ago and they just drop in.

 

[drewkaree]

I have 2 ideas about why this could be.

1. The lake. It seems nuts, but it happened to me. Over the last couple of years, i’ve Wet slipped in2 different lakes. The lake with less clarity and lots more organic matter swells the plugs up within days, and requires lubing the plugs about once a month to get them safely removable and replaceable. The lake with more clarity and less organic matter does not even require lube to keep the plug working.

2. I believe the screw in plugs may demand tighter tolerances than the push button plugs. The push button plugs work kind of like an expanding wall anchor, the screw in plugs are more like a finely Threaded screw. The screw would certainly be less tolerant of debris in the threads and much more sensitive to the amount of torque transferred to the head.

No idea if either could be the case, but in my situation, I know for certain it isn't #1. My lake has zero clarity and a metric ton of crap in it. I've left the boat in the water 3 times last year for a total of a little less than a month, and no swelling.

I'm wondering if I should even risk taking a look at them to see how they work - don't fix what ain't broke, and all that stuff.

Problem with me is, I almost feel like I GOTTA take a look to head off potential future problems. Mebbe my apathetic side will take over before I make it back to the boat. Fingers crossed!

 

[Thunderseye]

we had that happen too. i was finally able to get them in, but could only get one to lock, i ended up picking up 2 rebuild kits at park. I make sure to keep them lubed now.

 

[Brad460]

No idea if either could be the case, but in my situation, I know for certain it isn't #1. My lake has zero clarity and a metric ton of crap in it. I've left the boat in the water 3 times last year for a total of a little less than a month, and no swelling.

I'm wondering if I should even risk taking a look at them to see how they work - don't fix what ain't broke, and all that stuff.

Problem with me is, I almost feel like I GOTTA take a look to head off potential future problems. Mebbe my apathetic side will take over before I make it back to the boat. Fingers crossed!

Mine seemed fine all last year anytime I took them out. This year they seem to stick more easily. I’ve been spraying some silicon spray on them..seems to work well.

 

[Zizzou 192]

I have no reason to doubt any member’s personal experience with clean out port o- rings. So of the threads about this topic on the forum, at least 1 member has said the following about the o - ring in the clean out plug.


Does it work properly?

It doesn’t swell and doesn’t get stuck
It swells and gets stuck
It swells and is hard to put back in
It only swells when immersed in water
It only swells only in certain bodies of water.
When the o ring, plug, or tube is dirty or corroded, the plug is harder to get out.
It doesn’t get stuck if you don’t leave it in the wet tube.
The replacement o ring kit keeps it from sticking.


Lube?

It doesn’t make a difference lube or not
Yamaha changed guidance to recommend silicone lube on push button plugs.
Yamaha recommends marine grease on the newest screw in plug.
Some silicone based lines can make o rings swell.
There are lubes that make the o ring shrink.
the sun shrinks it.


How to unstick?

Crow bar
Hydraulic jack
Certain lubes
Ice / cold water on top of plug
2x4 and hammer to bottom of plug
Port popper
Rope around t handle and pull

 

[Julian]

No idea if either could be the case, but in my situation, I know for certain it isn't #1. My lake has zero clarity and a metric ton of crap in it. I've left the boat in the water 3 times last year for a total of a little less than a month, and no swelling.

I'm wondering if I should even risk taking a look at them to see how they work - don't fix what ain't broke, and all that stuff.

Problem with me is, I almost feel like I GOTTA take a look to head off potential future problems. Mebbe my apathetic side will take over before I make it back to the boat. Fingers crossed!

I think that perhaps the members having issues with the screw in plugs may be salt water boaters.

When I first saw these plugs and was demonstrated them by the Yamaha design team, I asked them if they wouldn't be susceptible to getting stuck just like the old ones. They said they'd tested them a ton and "no issues ". I pressed about salt water use, and they hedged a little there....basically saying...well if you dont maintain them and clean them, of course they'll stick eventually. Which is obvious.

Bottom line...they are easy to forget about and something that many members just leave and never touch. That results in stuck plugs. Members who maintain them, by removing, cleaning and keeping them dry dont have issues with them sticking.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I think that perhaps the members having issues with the screw in plugs may be salt water boaters.

When I first saw these plugs and was demonstrated them by the Yamaha design team, I asked them if they wouldn't be susceptible to getting stuck just like the old ones. They said they'd tested them a ton and "no issues ". I pressed about salt water use, and they hedged a little there....basically saying...well if you dont maintain them and clean them, of course they'll stick eventually. Which is obvious.

Bottom line...they are easy to forget about and something that many members just leave and never touch. That results in stuck plugs. Members who maintain them, by removing, cleaning and keeping them dry dont have issues with them sticking.

@Julian ......yes, common sense - that is (IMO) absolutely the over-riding answer.

 

[drewkaree]

I think that perhaps the members having issues with the screw in plugs may be salt water boaters.

When I first saw these plugs and was demonstrated them by the Yamaha design team, I asked them if they wouldn't be susceptible to getting stuck just like the old ones. They said they'd tested them a ton and "no issues ". I pressed about salt water use, and they hedged a little there....basically saying...well if you dont maintain them and clean them, of course they'll stick eventually. Which is obvious.

Bottom line...they are easy to forget about and something that many members just leave and never touch. That results in stuck plugs. Members who maintain them, by removing, cleaning and keeping them dry dont have issues with them sticking.

So if I'm understanding correctly, the new plugs (at least 2019 or newer) MIGHT be a problem in salt water, I'm guessing perhaps due to galvanic corrosion or just regular old "salt water messes with everything". I'll keep an eye on mine, being in fresh water, or tinker around to see how these things are designed, break it, cost myself some money, time, and frustration, and report back if/when things go haywire

 

[Shookie]

Man, I never take mine out... well at least on a regular basis. Took them out in March/April when I got the boat cleaned up for the summer but that's it. Think I might of removed them once or twice all of last year. Am I missing something or possibly harming my boat by not removing them?

Used to keep it in a wet slip, but now dry storage.

 

[Zizzou 192]

So. After reading about clean out plug o rings swelling for years on the forum, and experiencing different amounts of swell at different times and places, I did the unthinkable today. I searched the google for the phrase “o ring swelling”.

It turns out o rings are designed to swell. That’s how they work. There are mathematical formulass to determine the exact extent of swell. There are books on the subject and companies devoted to measuring which liquids make o rings swell or contract and by what measurement.

The reason given why o rings swell is basically stuff gets absorbed into the o ring that is chemically similar to the o ring. By chemically similar that also means polar, as in a directionally charged molecule since o rings are mostly made of rubber which is polar molecule.

Water is polar. Salt is polar. I assume at least a portion of the o ring is made of silicone, which is made from silica which is a type of fine sand. Like attracts like.

I assume a greater concentration of these and other compounds / contaminants chemically similar to the o ring in the water would vary the amount of swell way beyond what was engineered.

I assume the reason silicone spray and marine grease were specified as clean out plug o ring lubricants was to create a protective physical barrier between the o ring and other like compounds.


Saw a lot of talk as well about boiling o rings in various diy write ups to get rid of the swell, especially if a replacement o ring was unavailable for purchase.