# I think I F'ed up



## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

So I was changing the lower unit lube last night and when I was tightening up the lower plug to finish up I felt it slip a little more than I thought it should. It freaked me out and I stopped and left it. I didn't want to take the plug back out to find out I did strip the threads on the housing, cause if they are in fact stripped I would have to either fix it right away or leave it open all winter which I did not need to do either. I guess I'll have to check it after the first run in the spring. Any suggestions if it is indeed stripped out? I've seen heli coil and I've seen other say not to use the heli coil and use another brand which no one could name.


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## Bucman (Jun 29, 2016)

Man I'd be on that like a fat kid on cake. I would have to know now so I'd have ample time to fix it. You can plug the hole or cover it with something Im sure if your worried. Maybe a piece of tape over it.


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## perchjerker (Feb 8, 2002)

I agree. I would fix it now why wait until spring?


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## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

perchjerker said:


> I agree. I would fix it now why wait until spring?


I'm leaving it because. It's winterized with new lube and I'm not 100% sure it's stripped it just felt like it went a little further than I expected it to. It's not blown out stripped or leaking. I just don't want moisture to get inside because if it is stripped and I cant get a plug back in it, I don't have time to take it in. Baby is due any day now.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

You won't know until you investigate.
Meanwhile it will nag on you till you forget it.
If you do put it off , make sure you encounter a reminder before you think you're ready to take off...

Could be your gasket/seal /ring was not tight to your screws head. Then popped in place.
The only screws I recall had a shoulder helping take resistance when torqued.

Does not mean you didn't strip it though.
If you're lucky , the plug is softer than what it threads into.


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## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

I don't normally winterize until the lake won't let us out anymore, but the wife is about to pop out a new future fisherman.


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## perchjerker (Feb 8, 2002)

Doesn't really sound like it's stripped then waif might be correct about the gasket seating. I guess I would just leave it be until you can get to it then in your situation


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## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

Waif said:


> You won't know until you investigate.
> Meanwhile it will nag on you till you forget it.
> If you do put it off , make sure you encounter a reminder before you think you're ready to take off...
> 
> ...


Believe me, this is not something I'll forget about. I'm pretty meticulous. I'm pretty sure the plug is Stainless and the housing is aluminum. Unfortunately Aluminum housing loses in that duel. But the shoulder thing is true, I appreciate the extra thought to help ease my mind!


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

If you only fish small inland lakes where you can get back to the launch with the trolling motor, then you are only out the cost of a new lower unit if it grenades. But if you do that on Erie, the DR, or LSC early next year, you can add a big tow boat bill along with the hassle from the Canadian authorities is you drift onto their side of the line with the boarder still closed. And then you lose the best part of the fishing season waiting on getting it repaired.

If you don’t want to mess with it now, then just put a healthy coating of JB weld over the drain plug and it won’t leak. Ever. But you will have an issue changing the lube the next time. If you pulled the lower unit off, you could probably fill it a little at a time and make a weekend out of it.


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## #1wallygator (Jan 31, 2017)

Try loosening it a turn or two then tightening it back up and see how it feels. If it is stripped, you would probably know it.


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## loonypier (Aug 1, 2015)

Get a new one with a allen fitting.


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## gransportw (Jan 31, 2011)

Seems like you'd strip the flat head notch before the threads. It takes alot of pressure to loosen it.


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## Offfishn (Nov 12, 2017)

yooperwannabe8714 said:


> So I was changing the lower unit lube last night and when I was tightening up the lower plug to finish up I felt it slip a little more than I thought it should. It freaked me out and I stopped and left it. I didn't want to take the plug back out to find out I did strip the threads on the housing, cause if they are in fact stripped I would have to either fix it right away or leave it open all winter which I did not need to do either. I guess I'll have to check it after the first run in the spring. Any suggestions if it is indeed stripped out? I've seen heli coil and I've seen other say not to use the heli coil and use another brand which no one could name.


.
You may be referring to one of these below.
I use Heli-coils as a last resort or a field repair, but they do work.
I prefer the hardened threaded inserts made by Acme, Keensert and Keysert.
I prefer the brand Keensert inserts the best.


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## milanmark (Apr 10, 2012)

yooperwannabe8714 said:


> I don't normally winterize until the lake won't let us out anymore, but the wife is about to pop out a new future fisherman.


You're gonna have your hands full soon it sounds like, congrats in advance! 
I'd be spending every free moment checking out those other inserts and be ready to try something when you get mama and baby home. No way could I wait until spring! OCD wouldn't let me!


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## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

Offfishn said:


> .
> You may be referring to one of these below.
> I use Heli-coils as a last resort or a field repair, but they do work.
> I prefer the hardened threaded inserts made by Acme, Keensert and Keysert.
> I prefer the brand Keensert inserts the best.


Thanks Offfishn, These are probably the other brands I saw talked about but not mentioned when I was researching. I appreciate the expertise thoughts!





milanmark said:


> You're gonna have your hands full soon it sounds like, congrats in advance!
> I'd be spending every free moment checking out those other inserts and be ready to try something when you get mama and baby home. No way could I wait until spring! OCD wouldn't let me!


MilanMark Thanks for the well wishes! OCD is kicking in but the thought of it being stripped and needing to fix it now is outweighing my OCDness.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

gransportw said:


> Seems like you'd strip the flat head notch before the threads. It takes alot of pressure to loosen it.


This. Also I have doubts about a helicoil or thread repair because from memory there isn’t much thread engagement on these plugs - right? If it was mildly stripped, which seems low likelihood, thinks about a couple of wraps of Teflon tape. Trim the excess tape. I wouldn’t worry about tape particles getting into the gears or bearings. It might help with lubrication!


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Put a piece of duct tap over the plug for now. Put another BIG tape on on top of the motor reminding to check/fix it for april...


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Maybe I missed something. Would it not be pretty easy to wipe the threads out with a rag and look closely with a flashlight? If you stripped it, shouldn't be too difficult to see.


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## John Hine (Mar 31, 2019)

Easy fix. Get the next size up drain plug & tap to match & retap the hole in the housing. Permanent fix


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

John Hine said:


> Easy fix. Get the next size up drain plug & tap to match & retap the hole in the housing. Permanent fix


Not quite that simple. You’d have to machine the flat sealing annular surface to a larger OD as well.


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## SteelShot (Jan 26, 2011)

Don’t worry about the unit sitting without gear lube if you drain it. There will be plenty of residual lube to keep things from corroding. 

The reason you winterize is to get any water out that could freeze and crack the housing. If you drain it there won’t be any water in there to freeze. Some moisture will get in from the air but the residual lube will protect things. Just put some tape over the hole and get to it when you can. New borns sleep a lot so you will have some time. Toddlers are the ones you need to watch out for. They get into everything. Congratulations on the new little one. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## John Hine (Mar 31, 2019)

piketroller said:


> Not quite that simple. You’d have to machine the flat sealing annular surface to a larger OD as well.


The next size up plug will be metric & only a thread difference of about .03937, the head size is typical & the spotface for the o ring is plenty big enough to accommodate a bigger plug. Lifetime machinist here, I’ve done this plenty of times. Inserts or helicoils won’t work, not enough wall thickness.


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

John Hine said:


> The next size up plug will be metric & only a thread difference of about .03937, the head size is typical & the spotface for the o ring is plenty big enough to accommodate a bigger plug. Lifetime machinist here, I’ve done this plenty of times. Inserts or helicoils won’t work, not enough wall thickness.


I'm sticking with you. That's what we'd do at work and be up and running quick. When in doubt, tap it out...


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## bad dog (Mar 31, 2004)

...and don't wait until next year. Fix it now, fish it in the spring.


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## Big Frank 25 (Feb 21, 2002)

Is the plug recessed in the hole or flush?


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## bowhunter426 (Oct 20, 2010)

If it is stripped look at other OEMs for a different sized plug. I have retapped a metric Yamaha to an Inch Merc in the past


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## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

SteelShot said:


> Don’t worry about the unit sitting without gear lube if you drain it. There will be plenty of residual lube to keep things from corroding.
> 
> The reason you winterize is to get any water out that could freeze and crack the housing. If you drain it there won’t be any water in there to freeze. Some moisture will get in from the air but the residual lube will protect things. Just put some tape over the hole and get to it when you can. New borns sleep a lot so you will have some time. Toddlers are the ones you need to watch out for. They get into everything. Congratulations on the new little one.
> 
> ...


SteelShot, man are you right! We already have a 2.5 year old at asking for his fishing rod daily.

I honestly was just poking around at the idea if in the spring I do find that it's stripped, what am I in for, because I will not be looking into it now. I do get everyone telling me to look at it now, believe me I wish I could. We just moved and I need to prepare things for the arrival of the newborn. Who knows if I'll even be able to get to it for the spring run, maybe not. I just wanted to see if anyone had any prior experiences with this if it is stripped when I tackle it.


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## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

John Hine said:


> Easy fix. Get the next size up drain plug & tap to match & retap the hole in the housing. Permanent fix


Thank you John, This is something I can confidently handle if it comes to it. Where would a good place be to start if I need to find the next size up plug?


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## John Hine (Mar 31, 2019)

I would start with your local marine mechanic shop, they can check the diameter and pitch of your plug and that will tell you what brand plug you’ll be looking for to go up one size, or if you have a boat motor boneyard around you somewhere you can take a micrometer and just go hunting for one, or if that fails take it to your local machine shop, they can turn you one up on a CNC lathe quicker than you can Ask for it


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## yooperwannabe8714 (Feb 4, 2011)

John Hine said:


> I would start with your local marine mechanic shop, they can check the diameter and pitch of your plug and that will tell you what brand plug you’ll be looking for to go up one size, or if you have a boat motor boneyard around you somewhere you can take a micrometer and just go hunting for one, or if that fails take it to your local machine shop, they can turn you one up on a CNC lathe quicker than you can Ask for it



Thanks John!


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## Magnet (Mar 2, 2001)

yooperwannabe8714 said:


> SteelShot, man are you right! We already have a 2.5 year old at asking for his fishing rod daily.
> 
> I honestly was just poking around at the idea if in the spring I do find that it's stripped, what am I in for, because I will not be looking into it now. I do get everyone telling me to look at it now, believe me I wish I could. We just moved and I need to prepare things for the arrival of the newborn. Who knows if I'll even be able to get to it for the spring run, maybe not. I just wanted to see if anyone had any prior experiences with this if it is stripped when I tackle it.


It sounds to me like you have your priorities right. Always put your family ahead of your hobbies. Nice work young man!


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