Plug clean out frustated!!!! help

[Keith Gray]

I bought a 2009 Yamaha 212SS jetboat last fall. Had it out 8-10 times in the fall and no issues. Had it winterized at Marina and stored for winter. I took it out for the first time last week and one of the cleanout plugs popped out. I made it to the marina and they reseated it for me and said since it had just been winterized and dewinterized that it probably did not get seated properly and that I should not have issue again. Well yesterday on Mother's day I took my wife and family out and this happened again twice! Once for both plugs so it was not related to one plug. I was able to reseat one, but the other one I could not get it to stay. The river has just been raised so admittedly it was a little dirty. I came back in (with one engine) and told them to store it back on the rack, that I had enough for the day. The guy at the marina said "yeh, that's the only thing about these jetboats".
Well I told him that I was not going to continue with this until something is fixed. So my question is, has anyone else had this issue ? Is this something that is normal ? Is it possible something in the housing is warped or broken that could be causing the plugs to not seal ? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[djetok]

I bought a 2009 Yamaha 212SS jetboat last fall. Had it out 8-10 times in the fall and no issues. Had it winterized at Marina and stored for winter. I took it out for the first time last week and one of the cleanout plugs popped out. I made it to the marina and they reseated it for me and said since it had just been winterized and dewinterized that it probably did not get seated properly and that I should not have issue again. Well yesterday on Mother's day I took my wife and family out and this happened again twice! Once for both plugs so it was not related to one plug. I was able to reseat one, but the other one I could not get it to stay. The river has just been raised so admittedly it was a little dirty. I came back in (with one engine) and told them to store it back on the rack, that I had enough for the day. The guy at the marina said "yeh, that's the only thing about these jetboats".
Well I told him that I was not going to continue with this until something is fixed. So my question is, has anyone else had this issue ? Is this something that is normal ? Is it possible something in the housing is warped or broken that could be causing the plugs to not seal ? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you might need a rebuild. If you could post a pic of the plug it would help. Do you typically leave the plugs in all season? If so they could be swollen, I realize they were out all winter too. Were they hard to remove? I would suggest plug locks, like ez locks from Cobra jet steering or Jet boat pilots locks.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/rebuilding-yamaha-jet-boat-clean-out-plugs.46/

 

[Beachbummer]

EZ locks vote from me too.

In the mean time, pull on them hard before leaving to make sure they are well seated. Silicone spray helps install and remove. I have rebuilt mine and it's still required a little force to engage.

EZ lock is the final and total solution for blowouts, but you still want to have easy install and remove. Silicone a bunch and if it does not improve enough, you can rebuild them too.

Did I mention EZ Locks?

 

[Chillypilot]

If they are tight pick up a rebuild kit add EZ locks for added insurance.

 

[Keith Gray]

I just bought this bought last fall and yes I think the plugs were left in all year in dry storage. This bought is a 2009 but it only has about 100 hours on it. It has lived most of its life in dry storage. I will look into rebuilding it. The other thing I noticed yesterday was that the bilge seemed to really fill up with water a lot. When I turned on my bilge pump yesterday several times it "peed" alot as my son calls it, lol. Wondered if that may be a related issue or unrelated.
I will look into EZ locks too. I have seen some people on the forum say they take them out every time they put the boat up, but it would be nice not to have to deal with that. But I don't mind taking them in and out periodically and making sure they are loobed up etc for maintenance purposes. Pretty scary when you are flying down the river and those things pop out so hard that it breaks the locking mechanism on the door on your deck! Mine have a wire that holds them to the deck but still!!!

 

[Ronnie]

Please post pics of the plugs if/when you get the chance. It sounds like the rubber seal may have expanded so it is difficult to get them in all the way. I have plugs parts that I took out after 2 years of use that I may be able to send you but need to ask if @Julian wants them first as he techincially won them from me a few weeks ago. They are in good shape I just replaced them when I bought my current boat used. Over 8 years and two Yamaha jet boats I have only “had to” rebuild my plugs once, the rubber seal on one plug swelled up and I had a hard time reinstalling it after pulling it To clear debris. I would not let this turn me away from Yamaha jet boats and hope it doesn’t make you think less of your boat, just chalk it up to intermittent maintenance/repair of a used/older boat and it’s a lot less expensive than buying a new one whose plugs are likely to swell and need replacement eventually as well.

 

[Scottintexas]

Glad to have you on board, where are you boating at?

How fast did you go when you came back in on one engine ? No wake speed I hope, any faster and you risk back pressuring water into your engine, did you run the bad plug engine at all after you got back in?

The real problem with jet boats is most marina people don't understand them, you don't need to winterize, you should remove your plugs after each day. if you can't because they put it on the rack I would suggest every trip you taking them in/out just to make sure they are working properly.

Like suggested above, the locks are cheap insurance that they won't blow,

If they are doing your oil changes also I would suggest you double check the level because it's easy to overfill and will ruin your air filters.

Be sure to check out the FAQ tab at the top of the page for lots of great tips/DIY's and the link to a list of known issues with your model boat in my sig. below

 

[Julian]

@Ronnie Not even sure what I won! LOL

 

[Keith Gray]

I am boating in Hickory, NC. I came back fairly slowly. Once I got in I threw my hands up and told them to put it back up on the rack. So the bad one is not sealed as we speak. I have put a call into them to have the mechanic look at it. As far as winterizing, do you not need to winterize it so the engine blocks doesn't freeze ? That was my fear. They did change oil and all of that.. I am willing to do whatever it takes to not have the plug issues resloved. I like the idea of checking them each time I go out and feeling secure that they come out and go back in sealing easily. I recently put the thrusters from this website on for easier steering when parking and I really like those. I also love the feeling of driving it and slinging my teenage son around on the tube. Turning is phenomenal. Just scared me a little yesterday when I was so far away from Marina when this happened. MY wife said "what of we were out here this far away at night and this happened ?!" I tried to seat the one for at least half an hour. It was 93 degrees yesterday and humid and I was cussing lol!
Only other question for you guys is do you think the bilge having so much water yesterday had anything to do with this issue ?
Thanks to all of you for your input. And I am going to look at the locks as well!

 

[djetok]

I am boating in Hickory, NC. I came back fairly slowly. Once I got in I threw my hands up and told them to put it back up on the rack. So the bad one is not sealed as we speak. I have put a call into them to have the mechanic look at it. As far as winterizing, do you not need to winterize it so the engine blocks doesn't freeze ? That was my fear. They did change oil and all of that.. I am willing to do whatever it takes to not have the plug issues resloved. I like the idea of checking them each time I go out and feeling secure that they come out and go back in sealing easily. I recently put the thrusters from this website on for easier steering when parking and I really like those. I also love the feeling of driving it and slinging my teenage son around on the tube. Turning is phenomenal. Just scared me a little yesterday when I was so far away from Marina when this happened. MY wife said "what of we were out here this far away at night and this happened ?!" I tried to seat the one for at least half an hour. It was 93 degrees yesterday and humid and I was cussing lol!
Only other question for you guys is do you think the bilge having so much water yesterday had anything to do with this issue ?
Thanks to all of you for your input. And I am going to look at the locks as well!

Water in the bilge : (any of these)
1)could be from water left in the boat if not drained
2) Scupper valve on those boats

If it were me I would remove all the plugs and drain it. (if you have a trailer) . With a dry boat reinstall the plugs and go from there. search baby powder https://jetboaters.net/threads/newer-24-foot-anchor-locker-drain-can-you-check-yours-for-me.12086/
winterizing : is burping the throttles a couple times to clear water from the jet. I change my oil at this time , pull all my plugs , tilt it so it drains , remove carpets, and put damp rid container in to absorb water. Oh I also put in fresh cab every month (for the vermin).

Start the season : I change oil filter , oil, and spark plugs. Install all the internal plugs install carpets. Obviously remove the damprid

 

[Beachbummer]

They should take just a few seconds to set. With the locks it takes another 10 seconds to pre load the lock.

I forgot to put the plugs on in my last outing, so I had to do it quickly while drifting.

 

[scokill]

I bought a 2009 Yamaha 212SS jetboat last fall. Had it out 8-10 times in the fall and no issues. Had it winterized at Marina and stored for winter. I took it out for the first time last week and one of the cleanout plugs popped out. I made it to the marina and they reseated it for me and said since it had just been winterized and dewinterized that it probably did not get seated properly and that I should not have issue again. Well yesterday on Mother's day I took my wife and family out and this happened again twice! Once for both plugs so it was not related to one plug. I was able to reseat one, but the other one I could not get it to stay. The river has just been raised so admittedly it was a little dirty. I came back in (with one engine) and told them to store it back on the rack, that I had enough for the day. The guy at the marina said "yeh, that's the only thing about these jetboats".
Well I told him that I was not going to continue with this until something is fixed. So my question is, has anyone else had this issue ? Is this something that is normal ? Is it possible something in the housing is warped or broken that could be causing the plugs to not seal ? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As others mentioned, plug rebuild kit will most likely take care of your issue. EZ locks are for added protection but won't work if plug doesn't/can't seat properly to begin with. Plugs need to be pulled after each outing and reinserted before going out. Water sitting on top is normal and if left in all the time this is what swells the plugs and makes them hard to pull and put back in. You need to be able to pull and reinsert easily in case you have to pull on the water to remove debris from the pump. This isn't hard, but not something I would ever trust to someone else. Also most marinas and mechanics know little if anything about these boats. There is really no winterization in a traditional boating sense.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

A couple of things about the cleanout plug with the t handles , first be sure the aluminum ring that the plug seats in is clean, use a good nylon pot scrubber to clean the ring in the tube.
Also rebuild the bottom half of the plugs with this part number from Yamaha For-67690-03 not very expensive but they make the plugs go in easier. And This will explain what happens in your plug and why you have no idea when they will fail

If a plug fails but does not launch it can destroy your engine with water ingestion if you don't catch it in time.

 

[Julian]

Agree with all of the above.....clean out plugs should not be hard to install. They should drop right in, and then you press the handle down to lock them. Seconds. If you are having trouble inserting them, you need to buy the repair kit. Simple fix.

https://jetboaters.net/faq/my-yamahas-jet-pump-clean-out-plugs-ports-are-stuck-or-sticking-how-do-i-get-them-out-or-fix-them.3/

 

[Keith Gray]

Thanks to everyone. Lots of good information. I wish the sales guy would have spent more time with me explaining this aspect of the boat. One last question:
If I pull these out when I come into Marina for them to store my boat and just lay them on my swim deck I can then just cover the boat leaving them on my deck. But the next time I have them put the boat in water will that be OK then ? Usually I give the Marina a 30 mins heads up that I am coming and my boat is waiting for me in the water. I assume it would be ok to sit in the water for a bit and then I can put them back in every time before I go back out ?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

So that is a double edged sword if you remove your clean out plugs from the holes while you store them DO NOT leave the T handles in the UP position , rather push them to the locked position , for 2 reasons, the small spring that operates the tray will be extended not compressed , compressing the spring weakens it secondly the plug gets water sand etc. inside it .
If you allow the contaminated water to evaporate while the tray is in the unlocked position you are allowing the particles to be left in the track forward of the tray and this is one reason the trays do not go all the way forward to lock properly.
When you realize the cleanout plug is just forward of the pump and the bottom of the plug is also the bottom of your boat,
to make that worse it is in the intake tunnel so hitting waves puts a huge amount of force on the bottom of the plug , this is the force that knocks the plug loose and often blows the rear hatch open etc. These plugs are in all Yamaha jet boats from the year 2000 to the recent change to the twist in plugs .

 

[Ronnie]

First, the engines are self draining so there are no freeze plugs to pull. As others have stated winterizing for me means treating the fuel with marine or 360 stabil and emptying out the fresh water shower tank.

Second, the amount of water in the bilge should have no impact on the clean out plug.

Third, I unlock my plugs and rotate them 180 degrees when my boat is not on the water. So they are still in the holes but not locked at all.

Finally, if your marina personnel don’t turn the engines on to store your boat taking the plugs out before they get to it should be fine. Note when the plugs are not in and the engines are on water will be forced through the clean out plug opening and offer finds its way between the seal and clean out plug tray on its way to the bilge (so don’t run the engines while the boat is on the water and one or both clean out plugs are not installed, doing so could result in a full bilge quickly a lot faster than the bilge pump can counter).

 

[Coheeba]

I dry store my boat, they pull it, wash it, flush it and put it in covered storage. When i get to the marina, boat still in the water, I remove the plugs and put them horizontally in the hole and close and latch the hatch. I then, a day or two later wash them with fresh water and spray CRC 6-56 on them and in the hole. Never store them in place. You will forget to put them in (see my reminder flag) but they will go in.

 

[Keith Gray]

OK I ordered the EZ locks already today. I am convinced. Now, for the replacement piece for the plugs it looks like you replace the bottom half. So do you just unscrew the top half and put the new bottom half on ? By the pics of that part number it looks like about 8 screws that would come out. I cant look at my plugs right now because it is in dry storage and I am at work. But I can include a pic of them later. But honestly for $80 in the scheme of things I am not adverse to just getting the replacement piece and screwing it on the bottom if I am looking at right.....

 

[Coheeba]

watch video by cobrajetsteering 4 up