Hey guys, this may sound like a really dumb question, but here is my dilemma today...
The PO cleaned the bowl of the old toilet with something that ate the finish off - I'm pretty sure it was porcelain, so I can't imagine what they used. Anyway, the base metal is rusting away. In addition, the valves are shot and its time for maintenance. The boss suggested I just replace the old crappy (pun intended) head with a new one. Took advantage of the Father's Day sale at West Marine, used a couple of frequent shopper certificates, and next thing I know I've got a new Jabsco head for about $130. Anyway, I pulled the old head today and went to install the new one. Pretty straight forward except the $#*@ mounting holes don't line up. The old mounting holes had either T-nuts or lock nuts embedded into the back side of the fiberglass. I would just drill new holes and thru-bolt, but I can't physically reach the back (under) side of the platform the head sits on. It appears as though the head closet was built as a single piece and then installed before the topside and hull were mated up. I haven't worked a lot with fiberglass in terms of a structural connection so I'm a little nervous. Soooo.......
Should I:
a. Just use a small diameter SS lag (old bolts were approx. 1/4"), drill the holes big enough so as not to put too much stress on the glass and hope for the best?
b. Use a hole saw to cut small (maybe 1 1/2" dia) access holes, one at each pair of bolts, 5200 or epoxy some locknuts into place, and install the new bolts after the 5200 or epoxy cures? I'm a little concerned this might be too much hole too near the mounting bolts.
c. ???????
I really can't imagine the connection taking a lot of load. Especially knowing that a home toilet only has two bolts and I don't think they are more than 1/4 20.
The PO cleaned the bowl of the old toilet with something that ate the finish off - I'm pretty sure it was porcelain, so I can't imagine what they used. Anyway, the base metal is rusting away. In addition, the valves are shot and its time for maintenance. The boss suggested I just replace the old crappy (pun intended) head with a new one. Took advantage of the Father's Day sale at West Marine, used a couple of frequent shopper certificates, and next thing I know I've got a new Jabsco head for about $130. Anyway, I pulled the old head today and went to install the new one. Pretty straight forward except the $#*@ mounting holes don't line up. The old mounting holes had either T-nuts or lock nuts embedded into the back side of the fiberglass. I would just drill new holes and thru-bolt, but I can't physically reach the back (under) side of the platform the head sits on. It appears as though the head closet was built as a single piece and then installed before the topside and hull were mated up. I haven't worked a lot with fiberglass in terms of a structural connection so I'm a little nervous. Soooo.......
Should I:
a. Just use a small diameter SS lag (old bolts were approx. 1/4"), drill the holes big enough so as not to put too much stress on the glass and hope for the best?
b. Use a hole saw to cut small (maybe 1 1/2" dia) access holes, one at each pair of bolts, 5200 or epoxy some locknuts into place, and install the new bolts after the 5200 or epoxy cures? I'm a little concerned this might be too much hole too near the mounting bolts.
c. ???????
I really can't imagine the connection taking a lot of load. Especially knowing that a home toilet only has two bolts and I don't think they are more than 1/4 20.
