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I spent about 90 minutes replacing the stock red plastic ballast valves, with the T-H RDV-2's that Mike-d posted on another thread. here are my notes
first off, the stock valves are JUNK!!!! , they aren't worth the space they take up, everyone of them I could blow through when they are closed, happy to see them go into the crapper. If you think the dealer is going to fix this flaw, it's just a matter of time before they fail. My boat has 150 hrs.
ok now for the good stuff.
1. The T-H VALVES operate out of the package BACKWARDS of the stock valves. Meaning when the cockpit actuator is in the "closed" position the cable is extended, and the position of the T-H valve would be "OPEN". a quick fix is to unscrew the actuation lever on the valve, which is keyed by a square notch, and move it 90 degrees clockwise , or counter clockwise. Then replace the screw and make sure that when the actuation arm is "fully extended" the vavle is closed.
2. The next thing is that the actuation arm has a small hole to feed the cable into, this hole is too small and you will have to drill it out not much I used 1/16 bit.
3. One of my valves has exessive flashing, inside , so I took it apart and used an exacto blade to clean it up, in fact I did all three just to make sure things were sano. Also, you will need to remove the screw that is used to hold down the cable, and trim the plastic standoff flush.
4. One valve was sticky, so I took it apart and lubed it with silicone grease. Make sure all the valves upen and close easily.
5. Center ballast tank is a a breeze, under the ski locker, there is a panel that is removed with two 7/16 bolts and 3 philips screws, remove the old valve and replace with new, this is the confidence builder, 15 minutes tops!.
6, OK now for the port and starboard. I got to both from on top, no need to pull up the floor. First the port, disconnect from the thru-hull side, then pull it up for better access. Disconnect the other side, then work the cable free, remove and replace. Same with starboard side, only this one requires patience and some contorting. What I did, was set the cockpit actuator to "OPEN" (Cable fully retracted) , manually set the valve to full open (closed has alot more slop to play with , but I wanted fully open to be perfect) then I attached the metal part of the cable, and tighted it in place. Then checked for proper cable travel.
7. Lastly DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN the steel hold down screw that tightens the metal pinch clamp on the cable. I found out that this was a cause of sticking cables. It needs to hold the cable in place , that's all.
If everything lines up, the plastic end of the cable (before the small metal wire comes out) should be just before the first screw on the valve.
and your done! in my opinion this is an absolute no brainer, if your valves are leaking, which is inevidable (sp).
thanks Mike!
first off, the stock valves are JUNK!!!! , they aren't worth the space they take up, everyone of them I could blow through when they are closed, happy to see them go into the crapper. If you think the dealer is going to fix this flaw, it's just a matter of time before they fail. My boat has 150 hrs.
ok now for the good stuff.
1. The T-H VALVES operate out of the package BACKWARDS of the stock valves. Meaning when the cockpit actuator is in the "closed" position the cable is extended, and the position of the T-H valve would be "OPEN". a quick fix is to unscrew the actuation lever on the valve, which is keyed by a square notch, and move it 90 degrees clockwise , or counter clockwise. Then replace the screw and make sure that when the actuation arm is "fully extended" the vavle is closed.
2. The next thing is that the actuation arm has a small hole to feed the cable into, this hole is too small and you will have to drill it out not much I used 1/16 bit.
3. One of my valves has exessive flashing, inside , so I took it apart and used an exacto blade to clean it up, in fact I did all three just to make sure things were sano. Also, you will need to remove the screw that is used to hold down the cable, and trim the plastic standoff flush.
4. One valve was sticky, so I took it apart and lubed it with silicone grease. Make sure all the valves upen and close easily.
5. Center ballast tank is a a breeze, under the ski locker, there is a panel that is removed with two 7/16 bolts and 3 philips screws, remove the old valve and replace with new, this is the confidence builder, 15 minutes tops!.
6, OK now for the port and starboard. I got to both from on top, no need to pull up the floor. First the port, disconnect from the thru-hull side, then pull it up for better access. Disconnect the other side, then work the cable free, remove and replace. Same with starboard side, only this one requires patience and some contorting. What I did, was set the cockpit actuator to "OPEN" (Cable fully retracted) , manually set the valve to full open (closed has alot more slop to play with , but I wanted fully open to be perfect) then I attached the metal part of the cable, and tighted it in place. Then checked for proper cable travel.
7. Lastly DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN the steel hold down screw that tightens the metal pinch clamp on the cable. I found out that this was a cause of sticking cables. It needs to hold the cable in place , that's all.
If everything lines up, the plastic end of the cable (before the small metal wire comes out) should be just before the first screw on the valve.
and your done! in my opinion this is an absolute no brainer, if your valves are leaking, which is inevidable (sp).
thanks Mike!
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