New Boat - Trim Cylinder Threads Stripped - Fixed

[ZLJUANN]

Hi all, I asked a question in another thread and the thread was closed shortly after. Luckily user ESGWheel PM'd me and answer my question but I thought it would be useful for this information to be public as it seems to be a common problem.

I recently bought a beautiful 2004 Regal 2200 with the VP 5.7 GI-D (SN #4012102762) and SX-M outdrive. The PO stated that his mechanic had recently serviced a leak in the outdrive and during the inspection, no leak was present even though one trim line was visibly damaged. After getting it home and running through every function and feature, we noticed a small leak coming from that damaged hose. Of course, once we actually looked at it within inches, we noticed that the trim line was inserted and threaded at an angle and the threads in the trim cylinder were no longer useful once removed.
I researched for several days and everyone commented that the thread pitch was most likely 3/8-24 inverted flare. This is incorrect for this model. ESGWheel informed me that it is actually 7/16-20 UNF and the fitting is a custom VP O ring tube fitting. I ended up ordering a thread insert kit from amazon and installed it and I am happy to say the thread is now repaired and the line inserts back in while making proper contact. I still have a small leak but the o ring was pretty chewed up, so I will replace that with the new trim line and I am sure I will be good to go.

This is the kit I used: Amazon thread repair kit

Again, this information is model specific but this is a pretty common configuration. If you go to volvopenta.com and enter your engine serial number, you will get all the information you need for your rig based on the factory configuration. It has been an invaluable tool.

 

[ESGWheel]

ZLJUANN,
You have given me new hope with my issue! While I am familiar with thread repair kits like Heli-Coil, I frankly did not think they would work on this application. I figured the unique method of sealing using an O-Ring by having the male nut bottom out on the female side which compresses the O-Ring ‘just so’ would be incompatible with a thread repair kit. So, for me, this is GREAT news!

More on this: I have not been able to (as yet) find the name of the type of hydraulic fitting this is. (Does anyone know?). I hope to talk to some hydraulic professionals to understand it more and will post an article on how they work as I too have found lots of confusion out there.

I am still struggling with my situation of replacing a trim hose due to a leak at the transom manifold end. I now know I need to chase the hole with a bottom tap but so far have not been able to (I am extremely cautious in my approach). But with your info, I will be more aggressive knowing I can use a Rapi-Coil which I have already ordered as insurance! Thanks again for this excellent post!

 

[ZLJUANN]

I will follow up and say that the new o ring fixed the leak. I did not use VP o rings, and instead used the Harbor Freight O ring kit. I went with Nitrile instead of Viton because nitrile's properties seemed better fitted for this application. I used part number P5 in the kit, which is ever so slightly oversized. My thinking here is that the extra size would help seal any imperfections that might have been caused by the rethreading process. There is also no economical way to get a handful of these o rings locally as every single vendor seems to want to charge an exorbitant amount for shipping.

Additional notes: The tap in the kit isn't quite a bottom tap, but since the material was removed, the threads continued through and bottomed out on the female fitting. I also had to choke up on the installation tool in order to thread the insert all the way in since the hole is pretty shallow. I then broke off the end piece with a pair of long need nose pliers. The piece comes pre-scored so its relatively easy to do.

 

[ESGWheel]

There is also no economical way to get a handful of these o rings locally as every single vendor seems to want to charge an exorbitant amount for shipping.

PM me with your address and i will send you two in the mail