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Stripped Engine Drain Plug Port Side


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Hey all,

Well I went to winterize the boat since here in California our rainy season is upon us. Boat is an 07 Wakesetter VLX with the Indmar Monsoon 340 motor.

As I was removing the engine drain plugs I managed to strip the port side, just so we're clear my boat doesn't have the knock sensor plug, I have cats on this boat and on both sides was an 8MM hex head recessed into the what looks like a some sort of catalyst system. 4 hours later, I have broken 2 pairs of vice grips, and an adjustable wrench, and for the life of me cannot extract the plug out. The extractor is still in and not budging..... Am i going to be replacing the whole head? Does anyone have a part number on it? Anyone every has a bolt from hell?

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as jeep said, the drain plugs are lower on the block, not on or in either of the heads, and just above the pan, and the drainplugs should be brass, which is much softer than cast iron. pics would help

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No idea what that is, but I don't think you should be removing it.

You see that hose to the rear of the manifold? That runs back under your middle rear seat by the v-drive and has a garden hose type connection on it connecting it to the other manifold. You disconnect those from each other and drain it that way.

post-22501-0-77361200-1451865208_thumb.j

Edited by oldjeep
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When I undid the other side a bunch of water came out, then some more came out once I did the hose, It's definitely a drain plug. Can anyone chime in to let me know what this part is?

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When I undid the other side a bunch of water came out, then some more came out once I did the hose, It's definitely a drain plug. Can anyone chime in to let me know what this part is?

Just because water came out of something when you unscrewed it does not mean it is a drain plug.

Edit: And if you are busting multiple vice grips and an adjustable wrench over 4 hours trying to remove it...chances are it is not meant to be removed.

Edited by RTS
  • Like 3
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That bolt does not come out, at least for winterization purposes.

Look down below it at the knock sensor/drain plug I am pointing to in the first pic. The 2nd pic is with the wire detached from the knock sensor, you need to remove the knock sensor to drain the block.

To drain the manifolds/cats, you need to disconnct the two hoses at the location I am pointing to in the 3rd pic.

You also need to drain all the hoses attached to the motor (j-hose, raw water intake, etc).

post-16917-0-06026500-1451879098_thumb.j

post-16917-0-93984300-1451879111_thumb.j

post-16917-0-75347100-1451879133_thumb.j

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Everything else came out just fine, hoses on impeller housing, hose coupler, lower plugs. I find it hard to believe that one side would come out and the other would strip so badly. All a pro shop is gonna do is remove the strip or charge me for a new piece. Does anyone have a part number for this thing instead of telling me i just destroyed it.

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Can I ask why your even worried about draining the block? I live a little farther south in orange county and I have never winterized any boat engine. Then again, I use my boat year round.

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I just don't like the idea of lake water sitting in a block for 7 months; I'm sure it's not necessary but done out of a precaution.

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Everything else came out just fine, hoses on impeller housing, hose coupler, lower plugs. I find it hard to believe that one side would come out and the other would strip so badly. All a pro shop is gonna do is remove the strip or charge me for a new piece. Does anyone have a part number for this thing instead of telling me i just destroyed it.

Talk to your dealer for the part number. Doubt anyone else will know since removing it is not part of winterization.

Did you drill through it to use the extractor or is it still functional for holding water in? If you drilled ot then the net thing I would try is heating it with a map or propane torch. Then either get a tap handle for that extractor or carefully use a 12 pt socket wrench on it if you haven't screwed up the end.

Edited by oldjeep
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The extractor is still in place, not sure if it's holding water. I found the manifold on bakes for 1000.... worst case the manifold is 6 bolts; I'll remove the whole thing and have to take it to a shop.... Currently shooting myself in the foot for messing with it in the first place.

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The extractor is still in place, not sure if it's holding water. I found the manifold on bakes for 1000.... worst case the manifold is 6 bolts; I'll remove the whole thing and have to take it to a shop.... Currently shooting myself in the foot for messing with it in the first place.

Did you drill a hole through the plug? Or is the extractor just grabbing the rounded out part of the hex? If you didn't drill it out then just get a proper wrench and get the extractor out of it then move on with your day. If you broke a vice grip and adjustable and not the extractor then you need some stronger tools.

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  • 1 month later...

Just wanted to update this. So it turns out what I stripped was the clean out for the exhaust manifold. I took it to a local boat shop who basically called me an idiot (fair enough) and said it's not really necessary on our boats since we have the coupled hose that we use to drain the manifold. He recommended he has as welder burn out what was left of the brass plug and just weld it closed, and we would do this to the tune for $200, obviously its better then the $1000 price of the whole manifold, but does that sound right for a weld job on an aluminum manifold?

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Just wanted to update this. So it turns out what I stripped was the clean out for the exhaust manifold. I took it to a local boat shop who basically called me an idiot (fair enough) and said it's not really necessary on our boats since we have the coupled hose that we use to drain the manifold. He recommended he has as welder burn out what was left of the brass plug and just weld it closed, and we would do this to the tune for $200, obviously its better then the $1000 price of the whole manifold, but does that sound right for a weld job on an aluminum manifold?

200$ sounds like a bargin

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When I owned a fab shop. $200 sounds pretty close to what I would charge someone to do a job like that. Maybe just a bit less. A bit more if I was aware of what new manifolds cost at the time. Likely I would have told one of my mechanics to do it for that price after hours to get some extra cash in his pocket....

The good news is once they weld it you won't be able to make that mistake again....at least not on the same manifold.

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When I owned a fab shop. $200 sounds pretty close to what I would charge someone to do a job like that. Maybe just a bit less. A bit more if I was aware of what new manifolds cost at the time. Likely I would have told one of my mechanics to do it for that price after hours to get some extra cash in his pocket....

The good news is once they weld it you won't be able to make that mistake again....at least not on the same manifold.

$200 for a bonehead mistake means I wont be making this mistake anymore period.

Thanks for the input.

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$200 for a bonehead mistake means I wont be making this mistake anymore period.

Thanks for the input.

a $200 bonehead mistake doesn't even tip the scales in this neighborhood.

good on you for trying to diy and if you didn't know it before, you do now: diy can come with a few hidden price tags.

relax, enjoy and don't let it slow you down.

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$200 for a bonehead mistake means I wont be making this mistake anymore period.

Thanks for the input.

Don't worry, boating will provide you and yours many more opportunities to make bonehead mistakes.

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