thru-hull leak, there has to be a better way ?

[obd666]

ok, so here is a pic of the thru-hull that feeds the motor in my v-drive. ive had a slow but steady leak from it all summer and have finally gotten around to sealing it. after spending a few days trying to find a inch and a half open ended wrench that i can get in there to tighten it with , im now tryng to game plan getting the 3M 5200 in there with any degree of precision. i know in this picture it looks like there would be room to get in there, but just getting my hand down there is a trick and leaves me with zero visability. my past experience with 5200 is that its not something that you want to half-@ss lay down, still end up with a leak and then be unable to get back apart to redo ... anyway, my inclination is to take off all the fittings to get right at it and seal it properly, but that seems like it could be a super b_tch to get off in that space. should i a) remove all the brass fittings and struggle to get them back on or b) just get what 5200 down there i can and hope for the right result? any and all bright ideas will be greatly appreciated ...

signed,
mildly frustrated

[obd666]

meant to put in technical, my mistake ... please move if necessary

[core-rider]

Feel your pain, that is a very tight area. You probably won't ever get the thru-hull fitting out without at least raising up the engine/drivetrain assembly or removing the v-drive all together. Your best bet is to squeeze some 5200 onto your finger and apply it around the fitting that way. It won't look pretty, but it might fix he leak.

After thinking a bit more if water is coming in around the fitting and by the hull it may be worth moving the drivetrain so it can be fixed properly. I don't know how well the fiberglass is sealed when they cut thru-hull fittings in. That water may begin to damage the fiberglass in the hull causing you much more greif down the road. Just food for thought.

[core-rider]

Looking at that pic again... Is it possible to remove the hose on the end of the thru-hull fitting, remove the gas filler hose, and then get a large pair of channel locks to remove the seacock from the 90° fitting attached to the thru-hull? Then you might have enough room the spin the 90° fitting off the thru-hull and pop it out to propperly clean and seal the other side of the thru-hull fitting.

Again the picture may be a bit misleading but that may work. It's been awhile since I've looked at that area of my boat.

[obd666]

that was the very thought i had because theoretically those fittings should spin off. it just looks like it would be a struggle every step of the way due to the confined area. i may not have another choice, but im afraid to get them off and then not be able to get them back on tight enough to not leak themselves

[core-rider]

They're NPT fittings so just be libral with the pipe tape/paste and get them as tight as possible. The tape/paste should take care of the rest.

[Miljack]

Take the hose off the 90, take the 90 out of the seacock, take off the seacock from the through hull, as Jason said. You can buy yourself some room by taking off the handle to the seacock.
Another trick for the through hull is to get a "Wright wrench" which is a very short handled, thin cross section open ended wrench for these shorts of things.
You should be able to get to this and at least get some sealant on the back side of the through hull. I changed mine out for a larger version, and it was tough to get it off the bottom of the hull due to the sealant CC used. Also, check which of the 3m products you want to use for this application, I'm pretty sure 5200 is correct, but they may have another that is not quite so aggressive/pemanent.

[Sethro]

I would suggest 3M 4200...not quite as permanent as the 5200 but should seal just as well. And "fast cure" 4200 at that, as it is fully cured in 24-48 hrs instead of up to 7 days. You never know when you are going to need to remove that fitting. Probably never, but you know how that works.

[ers906]

I actually removed the throughhull and epoxied from the outside of the hull. If you can get it out that would be the easiest

[obd666]

thanks for all the input guys ... i thought about taking it out from the bottom, but i would still end up having to take apart the fittings to reassemble i think. guess im just going to have to remove the fittings component by component. once i do that, sealing it properly shouldn't be a problem.

the 5200 is the more permanent of the two (4200/5200), and is what i have always considered to be a good fit for thru-hull applications. however, im sure either one would probably work

[obd666]

finally got back at this thing tonight, and im happy to report that a big hole in the bottom of my boat is a beautiful thing! feels like i have a football field worth of space to work in now, resealing should be a breeze ...

[Ceruzziracing]

Are you going to use the 4200 or 5200? Let us know how that works out, Ive been chasing a leak for two months. Thought it was the prop shaft packing or rudder packing. Replaced both and still get water (more than should be there).

[obd666]

am going to use the 5200 now that i have the room to cleanly and precisely place it, both from the bottom and the top. i dont plan on having to do this again (famous last words )

anyway, do you just have the one thru-hull feeding the motor in yours, or others for ballast? with a dry bilge, be watching the thru-hull as the boat is backed or lowered into the water. if its leaking there you'll see it

[Rick]

Muffler Leak

You might want to check the muffler. There us a plug in the back that can rattle out. If this happens you get a leak. Also if the pad has shifted the vibration can wear through the fiberglass. Either fix is easy once you remove the muffler.