Tricks to removing through-hull transducer

[superbenk]

I bought a new depth finder for the boat but now I need to remove the old transducer which is a through-hull (actually goes through a hole in the hull). I can't budge the nut & I'm wondering how to best approach this without damaging anything. I'll post a pic when I figure out how from my phone

 

[superbenk]

No Title

Pic attached

 

[smokeonthewater]

You MUST turn, cut, break, or otherwise remove the nut....

 

[toddschubert]

looks like a job for a good pair of slip joint pliers or perhaps vise grips
Also you could try mounting a razor blade on vise grips and heat it with a torch and cutting into the washer flat with hull surface. This might get rid of some of the adhesive.
Someone may have used 5200 on it. Wrong application if so

 

[alldodge]

I bought a new depth finder for the boat but now I need to remove the old transducer which is a through-hull (actually goes through a hole in the hull). I can't budge the nut & I'm wondering how to best approach this without damaging anything. I'll post a pic when I figure out how from my phone

Agree break the nut, then start drilling out the center of the transducer. Could also use an osculating tool with the plunge blade. The manufacture has surely used 5200 to install.

I take it you new one is also a thru hull?

 

[superbenk]

Yes, the new one is through hull (Hawkeye D10DX w/ both air & water temp). I'm sure it's 5200 on there now. New transducer will go on with 4200.

 

[Alumarine]

I might be off base here but can you unscrew the transducer and or fitting from the outside of the hull?
If possible that would just leave the nut glued to the floor? I dunno.

 

[gm280]

Are you looking to save the old transducer? If so, you could take a punch and hammer and knock the heck out of the nut on the winged areas and see if that loosens it. OR, you could cut the nut like others suggested. And once the nut is off and the transducer is still stuck, take a flat piece of wood and lay it on the back and whack the heck out of the transduced with a hammer on the wood...

 

[TexMonty]

Small die grinder to split the nut works well

 

[smokeonthewater]

Hammer and chisel ..... MUCH faster

 

[superbenk]

No way to unscrew from the outside. Nothing to grab on to.

I have a new transducer so it sounds like the solution is to beat it the hell out of there! Not a whole lot of room for leverage or access under the engine though.

I already broke off one wing whacking at it with a long piece of wood & hammer. I'll get more severe & just cut it out.

 

[JoLin]

The transducer is plastic, right?

1. Attack it from the outside. Use a hammer and a stiff scraper/putty knife/small chisel. Pound the knife into the edge of the transducer's outside flange and keep working your way around it. You should be able to cut through it eventually, then pound it out from under the boat.

2. Use a hole saw the same size as, or a little larger than the current hole, again from the outside.

3. Abandon it in place and cut a new hole for the new transducer.

My .02

 

[Scott Danforth]

razor wheel in a die grinder. cut the nut and transducer off flush with the inside of the hull. use debonder to loosen the 5200. then pound out the old transducer. clean up both sides of the hull prior to mounting the new transducer.

 

[Seon]

This'll work...

 

[superbenk]

I actually have that Dremel tool! Didn't think of that or of destroying the old (broken) transducer. That makes things MUCH easier!

Which way is it easiest to pull the wire back up to the helm? Can I just cut the wire at the transducer, tape the new wire to the end and yank it forward? This is a Four Winns H200 that doesn't have a clear path along the gunwales for the wiring. It appears to go under the deck sole at some point into the engine compartment.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you just cut the old wire at the transducer and use it to pull the new wire to the helm just like your thoughts.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Yes BUT it MAY not work.... I had the same plan w mine.... Turned out it was zip tied in multiple places and was a PITA....

I ended up removing the padded bolster from the side of the interior and found a couple of 6" access plates there... Otherwise I would have had to cut some....

Between those plates and my fiberglass wire fish rods along with a pretty good tolerance for pain I got the new wires routed.

Hopefully your project goes smoother.

 

[superbenk]

That's more what I'm afraid of. Hope Four Winns was smarter about the routing so it's not so bad.

 

[smokeonthewater]

four winns had nothing to do with it... it's all about the individual tech that installed the gear... long after it left four winns possession.

 

[superbenk]

Ah, well regardless the existing transducer wire is all taped into the wiring harness from the dash. It's pretty much one single unit now.

Spent a bunch of time tonight fishing the new wire only to find out it needed to come up from the outside of the hull so I had to pull it all out again but pulled a string back. Regardless when I took the guage out of the dash & tried to fit the new one it didn't fit in the bezel. Arggg!

At this point I'm going to return the new unit & try to find an exact replacement of the Faria guage & transponder. Hopefully the existing wire harness is fine & I can just reuse that.