400 Sundancer Drain Plug

D

drprunner

Member
Dec 31, 2008
77
SE Florida
Boat Info
1997 400 Sundancer
Engines
Caterpillar 3116 300hp
I recently put my 1997 400 Sundancer into summer storage in FL. I always take out the drain plug as the summer rains get into my bilge thru the air intakes. This year I was unable to get it out and when I use a pipe wrench on it, the plate (held into the transom by 3 screws) that the drain plug screws into starts to turn. I tried WD 40 and heat to loosen it, but no help. I have 2 questions:
1. Any ideas on how to loosen the drain plug without putting more torque on it ?

2. Can I remove the plate that the plug screws into by taking out the 3 screws or is there more to it then that?

drain plug.JPG
 
Mine did the same thing the first year I owned it. It does have the through bolt with the bonding wire as techmitch mentioned. I had mine pulled out and re-seated/sealed and use Teflon tape on the plug now. You may just have to replace the whole package if the plug is corroded into the plate.
 
All good advice, above.

Now, since the garboard fitting (plate) has moved, you pretty much NEED to remove it and check for possible core damage, repair and reinstall with good sealant. Otherwise, water will start to find it's way in there, if it hasn't already. IF there is any core damage, chances are likely that it's minimal. A good way to permanently fix this is to remove a few inches of the bottom paint, bore out some of the wood, fill the entire area with thickened epoxy and an extra layer of glass, then redrill for the plate and install, then touch up the bottom paint. With that done, there will never be any chance of water getting into the core through this area - even if the sealant should fail. This is a basic/easy repair - the hardest thing, depending on access, is to the inboard side of the transom.

Although a garboard drain plug set is inexpensive... since it's bronze, there's a chance that it's still totally usable. Most likely, it was just tightened too much year after year. Bronze is a soft metal and seals against itself very easily. In fact, you can "almost" get away with just doing it finger tight. Meaning, just snug it up nicely - don't go all Superman on it!
 
Don’t sweat it! 45 minute job by yourself. Half that with help. Go in engine room bring a pair of vice grips and a 5/16 wrench. There are two unlock nuts on the top bolt(you will only see one bolt the other two are screws and don’t come all the way thru). Take the first nut off and remove the wire. Put the vise grips on the bottom nut and exit the engine room. Go outside and remove all three Phillips head screws. The part will fall out. The Transom is solid. Not cored. Clean the sand and clean the area and part with thinner. Reinstall with 5200(it’s below the waterline and you have no plans on removing it again) I did mine last week. Good luck, but you won’t need it.
 
Rip, the ENTIRE transom is solid? Are you sure? Or do you mean the area where the garboard drain plug is?

One suggestion... don't use 5200. To begin with, it doesn't seal any better than other sealants. If it would ever have to be removed in the future (a good example is what the OP has going on, now), it won't be a "Don't sweat it" kind of job! :) BoatLife LifeCaulk... 3M 4200 - both of those are good options and will seal just as well.
 
Some really good advice here. I'll add to the part about getting things unstuck.

WD-40 is OK, but not the best for loosening metal parts. I've heard that Kroil is AMAZING, but it's not commonly available. (I have a can, but haven't needed to use it yet.) PB Blaster is a much better penetrating oil than WB-40, and readily available in HW stores. My outboard repair instructor called PB Blaster JP - Jesus Piss for it's ability to loosen impossibly stuck parts.

Process: spray on the PB Blaster liberally. Let it sit for a day. Spray more, then try to remove the screw. If it's still stuck spray again and let sit another day. You can add a bit of heat to the metal part to help some thermal expansion break the corrosion. A physical shock can help too. I've found a manual impact driver can be very useful for removing frozen parts. This is a spring-loaded tool that you hit with a hammer, and it applies a shock torque to the part.

205674679-1-AG-EDIT.jpg
 
Lazy Daze said:
Rip, the ENTIRE transom is solid? Are you sure? Or do you mean the area where the garboard drain plug is?

One suggestion... don't use 5200. To begin with, it doesn't seal any better than other sealants. If it would ever have to be removed in the future (a good example is what the OP has going on, now), it won't be a "Don't sweat it" kind of job! :) BoatLife LifeCaulk... 3M 4200 - both of those are good options and will seal just as well.
Click to expand...
Yes. Whole transom! I also installed four underwater lights. The transom on my boat is solid.
 
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