Stuck cleanout plugs

[smthng]

I hope mine come out !!!! After reading all this!!! First thing I will do tomorrow !!!

Don't get too worked up based on my post... my '03 plugs come out like butter on a frying pan. You may be worrying about nothing.

 

[Bruce]

The part number is in this thread. https://jetboaters.net/threads/rebuilding-yamaha-jet-boat-clean-out-plugs.46/ They were back ordered and I had to wait a few weeks when I bought my SX230.

 

[txav8r]

Clean Out Plug (Manhole Cover) Parts
Yamaha # FOR-67609-09-00 - MANHOLE COVER REPAIR SET
on the parts schematics for the 2012 boats (it will fit all the locking, not screw in, clean out plugs)-$35+/-, each and it comes with the lower half of the plug and a fresh gasket! Note, this price is old but it hasn't changed significantly.
Here is more info on the plug...



Here are things I discovered using Jeff's EZ Locks, and you can verify easily if the dogs are retracted, just by seeing if this hole is closed, if it is, the plugs are unlocked. Use a mechanics mirror to look too, at the side of the T handle and visually see what position it is in, are the cam arms together, or are they open? Open is unlocked and dogs retracted.
Here is a picture of EZ lock in a open plug

And a picture of an EZ lock in a locked plug

And here is a diagram of the seal and pressure causing it to expand...the blue is the seal and as you can see, with pressure on it, it is pressed against the side, and as it dries out, as Jeff mentioned, it can become stuck to the side of the tunnel, as well as debris or grit complicating it. This diagram was created to show how the pressure can cause bypass water to flow into the plug, filling it with water, and then to get on top of the plug, even when sealed. It is common, even when the seal is good. Many guys remove their plugs in the fall and drain them. Others actually bring them inside over the winter to prevent freezing.

And finally, the instructions that Yamaha published prior to offering a kit to repair the plugs...it is attached below. As I mentioned, I think the use of grease is a grit and dirt attractant, and a silicone spray would be better IMO...if you used anything. I keep the clean...and dry, no lube, and never in the tube unless the boat is operating. Even in a wet slip, I would remove them overnight if I were there for several days. One night won't hurt, but I am pretty religious with them. Hope this info helps you and others too!

 

[smthng]

Thanks, pictures helped, but they indeed confirm that the dogs are not engaged and it's the plug or housing that's stuck.

One side is currently sitting in an ice bath, after having been PB Blasted, banged on all around with a steel drift and hand sledge hammer, locked and unlocked, banged on some more and cranked on with my 3000 lb floor jack until my jack started making popping noises (or the 4x4s it's on, not sure which). It's got enough tension on it that the rope sounds like a middle guitar string when I plink it.

Do I keep cranking until something breaks? My guess would be rope or t-handle will be the first to go. Or...
Do I attempt to disassemble it and see if I can get the top out and then take a chisel to the remnants?

I'll do what I gotta do, but I really want to avoid breaking the T-Handle if at all possible.

Edit: I'm also concerned that the top is what's stuck so disassembly may leave me in exactly the same place with no real result, other than possibly stripped screws. :S Regardless, I've a got a drop-off appointment for two weeks at the local dealer if I can't get it before then.

 

[aarons1k]

I was just thinking if you use a strap and leave it sit under pressure I bet it will come out by its self . Maybe over night ..?

 

[smthng]

I was just thinking if you use a strap and leave it sit under pressure I bet it will come out by its self . Maybe over night ..?

May attempt that when my rope breaks... Which will probably be soon. I can already see it separating from the stress on the edge of the jack. A friend is bringing snap ring pliers so we can get the jack apart and get to just a bar we can loop a chain around instead of the lifter base. Worst case, he'll drink my beer and we'll let it sit overnight.

 

[aarons1k]

May attempt that when my rope breaks... Which will probably be soon. I can already see it separating from the stress on the edge of the jack. A friend is bringing snap ring pliers so we can get the jack apart and get to just a bar we can loop a chain around instead of the lifter base. Worst case, he'll drink my beer and we'll let it sit overnight.

I like that plan , straps can do some neat things !

 

[txav8r]

Some impact will help over just plain lift. When mine stuck before on the old boat, it was the repeated shock that popped them out, not the amount of pressure directly. That lends itself to the same theory that hitting them or reversing the tug may indeed dislodge them. Others have reported that they had luck going under the boat, and using a 2x4 against the bottom of the clean out plug. It is tapered and care must be taken, not to damage the intake tunnel or the grate. As well as the top of the plug. If you remove the top plug half, take care! There is a spring/roller pin/tray inside the plug. If you remove that, you will see only the seal/gasket laying on top of the ABS tapered shell that is inside it, and the seal will be stuck between the ABS and the shell and the wall of the aluminum seat. If you take it apart, you won't have anything to grasp to help pull, and you will have to then get underneath if you don't resort to cutting. Be careful! Also, your going to not only want to repair the plug with the kit, but your going to want to scrub the hell out of that aluminum seat, lip, sides, and all...it will more than likely have pitting that is contributing to the stuck plug. Now that I see your in florida, I suspect this is a saltwater boat and that those plugs have been allowed to corrode in there for awhile. So scrubbing that neck will be important to fixing this long term. Keep us posted. Try a slide hammer to pull them.

 

[Bruce]

The top portion of the plug is expensive. The bottom is cheap. $250 vs $35. Seems like time to remove the screws, pull the top halves out and destroy the swollen lower portion.

 

[smthng]

Pop goes the weasel...

Plugs popped!

• smthng
• Apr 25, 2015
• 1

Took a chain, a 3000 floor jack, 2 4x4 boards, 2 buckets of ice and 2 Newcastle Brown Ales, but...

The final attempt was to replace all rope except one small loop around the handle with chain. That popped them both out, fairly explosively... enough to send the jack flying, but I caught it before it impacted the boat. The tubes are in rough shape and the bottom half of the plugs are shot. I have a lot of sanding to do. I hadn't tried the chain earlier as it required taking the "lifter" part of my jack off in order for the chain to fit. I didn't have snap ring pliers, my friend did. Once we stripped the jack down, it was 5 minutes of work with the chain.

Much thanks for all the help! I can only assume that all previous attempts were basically stretching rope instead of pulling the handle. Use as little rope as possible and as much chain as necessary.

 

[aarons1k]

Glad they final came out

 

[mark_m]

Time to drink beer!!!

 

[Boat Crazy]

Happy to hear of your success.

 

[jawsf16]

Order the manhole repair kit for both now. Great news!

 

[txav8r]

dont you just love a good explosion? glad you got em!

 

[Andy S]

If your plugs are still in good shape which from the pictures they look like it, I would take the top of the plug off and clean/dry /inspect the inside. During reassembly use a light lubricant on the slide and spring assembly.

To clean the aluminum tubes and the lower half of the plugs, I first used a scotch brite pad with some Bar Keepers Friend cleaner (any soft scrub cleaner will work). Then after a good rinsing with just water I used 200 grit wet/dry automotive sand paper on both the tube and the plug. After rinsing I would try to insert the plug in the tube and if it didn't fit smoothly I would continue with the 200 grit. Once I got the plug to fit smoothly, I then used 600 grit on both surfaces for final smoothness.

Since I did this work to my plugs and tubes in 2010 and after every use pulling my plugs, I have not had any problems with them.

 

[rkluck]

I bet you were so glad to see that plug come out!

 

[smthng]

Alrighty then... I thought my manhole woes were done. 'Fraid not...

I need to find out how to get parts to rebuild the top part of the manhole. When I got everything apart to install my rebuild bits, I found a number of issues. The most critical is that the "pins" the dogs rotate on are bent, which means the dogs don't completely lock. That means the plug doesn't seat completely, which allows gunk to get around it and gunk everything up... which is why mine were so hard to remove and why it'll just happen again unless I fix it. I'm going to reuse @txav8r 's diagram here...

See those two screws I circled in blue? They each go into a big pin. Those pins are the "hinges" for the locking dogs. They're bent and I need to replace them. The Yamaha dealer thinks he's found the screws on a parts diagram, but he can't find the pins. I'm not entirely sure he's even looking at the right screws, so I'm headed down there to see if we can figure it out.

Does anyone have a source or part number for these pins? If not, I'm probably looking at new mechanisms, which I really don't want to pay for right now. :S

 

[txav8r]

That is a drag. Yamaha doesn't list the upper plug parts separately. If your going to salvage the plug anyway, why not remove te pin/screw and see if you can source it. I doubt yamaha will share the breakdown, but you could certainly find them it have them milled at a machine shop cheaper than the $500 for two new plugs. Keep us posted.

 

[smthng]

Yeah... that sounds like three weeks of chasing people and parts and not being on the water in my new boat. So, I fixed it!

The local stealer had pity on me, tried looking at other non-Yamaha sites to see if he could find a solution and also offered to put them on a press to see if he could straighten them. I got to thinking that everything else on my plugs would eventually need a complete rebuild as well, so when he knocked a significant amount off the price of the two plugs he had in stock I took them. Sometimes time is just worth a whole lot more.

Thanks all, I may rebuild the old ones and see what it'll cost to have new pins machined once we get a hurricane or smthng.