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2002 342 Removing Rear Berth to replace toilet hose
DavidWMackenzie
Member Posts: 22 ✭✭
Hi all, thought I would give back to this great forum that has helped me so much...
Today I finished replacing the toilet to holding tank hose after observing my toilet flushing slower and slower over the years. I started by replacing the Jabsco pump (part number 37072-0092, $167 on Amazon)but later found that that was not my problem. It was the hose. Years of calcium build up that eventually broke free and plugged my hose. So I quickly learned that to tackle this project I would need to dismantle the rear berth to gain access to the holding tank. Not a hard job, just time consuming. All you need is Phillips bit and a right angle driver tool. There are numerous angle brackets to remove and other screws holding everything together. Take your time and take note of what screws went where. Once you remove the side panel in the center storage locker (assuming you have one, apparently some boats have a grey water holding that fills this space) you will gain pretty good access to the waste holding tank on the port side and the water tank on the starboard side. But for this job I had to reach the hose connection to the tank and thus had to pull out the entire back wall and cabinets to be able to reach the hose clamps. Once I did that I had at the ready and immediately used some paper towels to plug the disconnected hose and the inlet to the tank. DO NOT REMOVE THIS HOSE YET. YOU WILL NEED IT TO PULL THROUGH THE NEW HOSE.
Today I finished replacing the toilet to holding tank hose after observing my toilet flushing slower and slower over the years. I started by replacing the Jabsco pump (part number 37072-0092, $167 on Amazon)but later found that that was not my problem. It was the hose. Years of calcium build up that eventually broke free and plugged my hose. So I quickly learned that to tackle this project I would need to dismantle the rear berth to gain access to the holding tank. Not a hard job, just time consuming. All you need is Phillips bit and a right angle driver tool. There are numerous angle brackets to remove and other screws holding everything together. Take your time and take note of what screws went where. Once you remove the side panel in the center storage locker (assuming you have one, apparently some boats have a grey water holding that fills this space) you will gain pretty good access to the waste holding tank on the port side and the water tank on the starboard side. But for this job I had to reach the hose connection to the tank and thus had to pull out the entire back wall and cabinets to be able to reach the hose clamps. Once I did that I had at the ready and immediately used some paper towels to plug the disconnected hose and the inlet to the tank. DO NOT REMOVE THIS HOSE YET. YOU WILL NEED IT TO PULL THROUGH THE NEW HOSE.
Removing the hose at the toilet is a bit tricky as the fitting to which the hose connects to the toilet is in a very tight space. It is held in place by three Phillips screws. I thought I might have disconnect the toilet from it’s base to be able to remove those three screws but with the help of a right angle driver for one and a socket driven but on a second and a regular Phillips screw driver I managed to get them all out. Once you have that disconnected then removing the hose is easy
note that while you are doing this job you should plan to replace the “joker check valve“ ($10 on Amazon- Jabsco 44106-1000 Marine Toilet Joker/Check Valve https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZFTLTQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Uqc3Eb12965H2)
Now it is time for 11’ of 1” ID sanitation hose that I picked up at West Marine. This hose is surprisingly expensive and you can spend as much as $20/foot. I ended up getting a version that was $7.30/ foot. I bought 12’ but ended up with about 2’ left over so if you buy 11’ that will give you some play.
note that while you are doing this job you should plan to replace the “joker check valve“ ($10 on Amazon- Jabsco 44106-1000 Marine Toilet Joker/Check Valve https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZFTLTQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Uqc3Eb12965H2)
Now it is time for 11’ of 1” ID sanitation hose that I picked up at West Marine. This hose is surprisingly expensive and you can spend as much as $20/foot. I ended up getting a version that was $7.30/ foot. I bought 12’ but ended up with about 2’ left over so if you buy 11’ that will give you some play.
The next step I applied a generous amount of duct tape to join the new to the old at the head end. I bought a barbed connector thinking that I would hose clamp the two together but the hose clamps will not fit through the hole behind the toilet. Then with a helper feeding and me pulling from the other end, we guided the new hose through to the holding tank. Connecting both ends was straight forward. Then a quickly wet test proved that I had definitely solved my problem. The toilet now flushes about as fast most vacu-flush toilets. Wow what a difference! (https://youtu.be/TqLFgQ8RzZc)
With the toilet back in action now it was time to reassemble the rear berth. I made a video showing the steps involved here and posted to YouTube (https://youtu.be/XmpkzxFHT2k “2002 Rinker 342 Rear Berth Reassembly”
In hindsight I wish I had ordered new level sensor sender units for both tanks ( mine have not worked for 10+ years...a common problem it appears). It looks like the waste tank sender can be accessed from above but the water tank cannot. So it would definitely help to do that project while the rear berth is pulled apart. Attached are pics of the connections for the sender units
Also, FYI, both tanks measured 15.5” wide x 19.5” tall x 34” long (~45 gallons each)
I hope this post helps future DIYers/part time boat mechanics. Let me know if you have any questions
With the toilet back in action now it was time to reassemble the rear berth. I made a video showing the steps involved here and posted to YouTube (https://youtu.be/XmpkzxFHT2k “2002 Rinker 342 Rear Berth Reassembly”
In hindsight I wish I had ordered new level sensor sender units for both tanks ( mine have not worked for 10+ years...a common problem it appears). It looks like the waste tank sender can be accessed from above but the water tank cannot. So it would definitely help to do that project while the rear berth is pulled apart. Attached are pics of the connections for the sender units
Also, FYI, both tanks measured 15.5” wide x 19.5” tall x 34” long (~45 gallons each)
I hope this post helps future DIYers/part time boat mechanics. Let me know if you have any questions
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PC BYC, Holland, MI