NewMelon Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 I'm looking for some tips on replacing ballast gate on my 2013 21 Tomcat. Have about 115 hours on it and right ballast gate stuck open on me this weekend. Attempted to manually close gate on water no success. Tried on land no difference. Spoke with drain master. Thinks a tooth on the gears must have broke when I tried a manual close. Don't want to take it to Larsen marine for repair and lose a few days of boating therefore I'm going to try to replace it on my own. Drain master is overnighting me a new one tonight. I've looked at previous posts and drain master manual but I've seen conflicting information. Some guys have removed gate plus pipe fittings. Others have reported difficultly separating the pipes to pull the gait out. According to drain master I'm to remove the 4 bolts and it should slide right out. Add lube, seals, slide into place and tighten no more than 1 1/2 turn beyond hand tightening, and reconnect electrical. It seems easy enough for a novice like me. Is that your experience. Any tips or advise are appreciated. ctgod1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawndoggy Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 I think it depends whether the factory left you room or not. They didn't on my 2011... everything is basically press-fit in from the transom on my boat. I think they must have cut some of the overlapping pieces shorter on the newer boats so that the components can slide apart for service. Moto817 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto817 Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 On my 09 I was able to remove the hose clamps and slide the valve out and replace the flanges on the vlaves externally, 20 minute job. The problem arises when the black pvc pipes are assembled to close together from the factory and there is no room to remove the valve. It seems to be a case by case basis. Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk Shawndoggy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clovenburg Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Like Moto817 said, but if no room you have to take the 4 bolts out and slide it up. Its still easy once you get in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammer Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 just replaced one on the weekend, 2010 tomcat. I just removed the 4 bolts, and loosened the pipes, i was able to find enough room, just. It was a bit tight but i got the new gate in. start off and see if you can removed and install without dismantling everything first. It was my first time doing it so i took my time, took 45 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFTR Josh Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Maybe it's time to figure out the ballast gate from crapping out instead of the stereo upgrade! FIJIGuy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewMelon Posted July 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 So this novice was able to replace the drain master gate without sinking my boat. I have a 2013 21 tomcat. It was as easy as removing the four bolts, sliding the pipe towards the transom creating enough space to pull out the motorized gate. Replaced the seals on the flanges of the plumbing. I slid the gait side ways brethren the pipes. I found if I tried to push down with gait seals would pop off. Was able to push pipes together. Did not have to adjust clamps. Fix 4 bolts and tested on the water. No leaks! A decent day on new melones reservoir. Tgteeter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traver Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Planning on replacing a gate soon... any other tips I should know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsmobiledriver Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Do not over tighten the bolts for the flanges when reassembled and requires beer mkl91710, FIJIGuy and Aquaddiction 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traver Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 1 1/2 turns past finger tight is what drain master instructed me to do over the phone last week. Hopefully I don't run into any curveballs during the repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbtomcat Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I had to cut a quarter of an inch off each flange to get the gate back in because the factory put to long of a hose in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ_MB Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 My starboard side is stuck open. Called drain master and they suggested cleaning and lubricating. I'm going to try that. They said I should be able to pull up the carpet in the locker and find a door to access the valve. Is that correct? I did notice that I hear a noise like a motor running even though the gate is not moving. Does this mean something is broken? In the past when it got stuck I didn't hear any noise until is freed up and worked normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mucker626 Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 That noise you here is the plastic gears stripping. If the gate is stuck the gears just strip. Open it manually, lubricate it and hopefully you have enough plastic left to keep going for awhile longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ_MB Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 ^^^^ Thanks. As for access to the value, just pull up the carpet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mucker626 Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Yes. Pair of plyers and just grab the carpet. It will pop rite out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ_MB Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightMax Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 I had to change out one of my gates this summer. was a bit of a pain in the ass to get the old gate out (not a lot of wiggle room) In the process I wound up breaking the silicone seal between the through hole and the PVC inlet/outlet. So I had to remove the chrome / billet trim piece on the outside of the transom and remove the PVC tube and scrape out all the old silicone. I was really surprised by this poor design after I got to messing with it. For one, I always thought that the trim piece was more like a reversed exhaust tip and that it had a section of pipe welded to the flange that the hose slipped over inside the boat. But in fact all it is is a fancy trim plate cover. Secondly, I was surprised that there was about a 1/4" to 1/2" annular gap between the hole drilled in the boat and the PVC tube and it was only sealed with silicone (this is the seal I broke in the process). Seemed like a pretty big weakness in the design to me. So be a little bit careful removing the old gate trying not to break that seal Shawndoggy and sand2snow 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxvet Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 I had both of mine on the 2013 go out within 2 weeks of each other. I loosened all the hose clamps and was able to move things around enough. I wish they made the access hole bigger. Why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawndoggy Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 I had to change out one of my gates this summer. was a bit of a pain in the ass to get the old gate out (not a lot of wiggle room) In the process I wound up breaking the silicone seal between the through hole and the PVC inlet/outlet. So I had to remove the chrome / billet trim piece on the outside of the transom and remove the PVC tube and scrape out all the old silicone. I was really surprised by this poor design after I got to messing with it. For one, I always thought that the trim piece was more like a reversed exhaust tip and that it had a section of pipe welded to the flange that the hose slipped over inside the boat. But in fact all it is is a fancy trim plate cover. Secondly, I was surprised that there was about a 1/4" to 1/2" annular gap between the hole drilled in the boat and the PVC tube and it was only sealed with silicone (this is the seal I broke in the process). Seemed like a pretty big weakness in the design to me. So be a little bit careful removing the old gate trying not to break that seal Honestly, after seeing the design, I think it's smarter to just pull the fitting from the transom right off the bat, then pull the pipe out, clean out the existing silicone and recoat it. That "seal" you are worrying about breaking is just a big globby bead of silicone to begin with. I had a slow leak in my boat for almost a whole season that was driving me nuts. Turned out to be leaking from that area. Especially for someone who moors their boat, the design could sink you if the silicone bead fails. also I don't know whether it's the "right" way to do it or not, but when reassembling I would pull transom fitting, pipe, and gate valve, then put the new valve in and loosely put the pipe in without forcing it onto the pump fitting. So the pipe would be "sticking out" of the transom a bit. Then glob around the outside of the stuck out pipe with silicone and screw in the transom fitting, so the fitting is "pushing" or "pressing" the pipe into the gate valve and allowing the silicone to fully seal on the transom fitting. That probably reads as gibberish to someone who hasn't done this, but hopefully it makes sense to someone who has taken the system apart. That transom pipe tube being held in by silicone alone always gave me the willies. MidnightMax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightMax Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 also I don't know whether it's the "right" way to do it or not, but when reassembling I would pull transom fitting, pipe, and gate valve, then put the new valve in and loosely put the pipe in without forcing it onto the pump fitting. So the pipe would be "sticking out" of the transom a bit. Then glob around the outside of the stuck out pipe with silicone and screw in the transom fitting, so the fitting is "pushing" or "pressing" the pipe into the gate valve and allowing the silicone to fully seal on the transom fitting. That probably reads as gibberish to someone who hasn't done this, but hopefully it makes sense to someone who has taken the system apart. ^^^ Makes total sense and that is how I would up doing it. I made a pretty big mess though as it was a "field" repair at the time and will probably re-do it over the winter. Especially for someone who moors their boat, the design could sink you if the silicone bead fails. That transom pipe tube being held in by silicone alone always gave me the willies. Exactly! everyone is always talking about putting a valve on the raw water intake. I worry more about these seals. IMO the design would much more secure using something like this that could be easily sealed against the transom / hull like a normal through hull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PATRON Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 For the last 4 years all of the ballast transom tips look like photo above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidnightMax Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Well crap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawndoggy Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 For the last 4 years all of the ballast transom tips look like photo above Seems like a part that you might want to make available to owners with the older sketchier setup? MidnightMax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ_MB Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 That noise you here is the plastic gears stripping. If the gate is stuck the gears just strip. Open it manually, lubricate it and hopefully you have enough plastic left to keep going for awhile longer. I was able to access the manual override tonight and it had no effect. I gave it a 1 1/4 clockwise turn and it stayed open. I tried counter clockwise and that didn't make a difference. I guess the manual override uses the same gears? I might be out of luck. Did you put new seals on when you cleaned and lubricated yours or just reuse the old ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mucker626 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Mine seem to get stuck in the closed position . I was able to manually open them and then spray them heavily with silicone spray and open and close them a series of times. That seems to be working for me. I didn't remove them for a lubrication. Never had them stick open. And I have not had to change one out yet. I have two on the shelf for when it does happen though. So really I can't answer your question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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