Bravo problems, came home to drink

kneedeep

Well, I left the boat in frustration & came home to drink. I'm getting ready to launch & was going to paint the drives & put on the anodes. My stbd drive won't go up, just clicks. Bad solenoid? Bad battery? Something else? And, last year, my bravo drive piston anodes fell off (dealer installed). I thought that they forgot to tighten them. This year, I figured I'd do it myself. Turns out, they're stripped. Now, I'm ticked that they didn't tell me this last year. I guess I'm going to have to tap them for a larger bolt?? Anyone had either of these issues before?

Black_Diamond

I'm not sure you have room to drill and tap for a larger fastener for the anodes.  Worth looking into OR heli-coil them, even better since the thread form is superior especially in softer metals.

rinker312

Yes likely bad solenoid. I just replaced some of mine. I think my switch is acting up too but if you are hearing clicks then the switch is working. You could try crossing the solenoid posts. If that works you know for sure it is the solenoids. Never stripped my drive piston. Always change my own because I never have any luck letting anyone else work on my stuff. Well, and I'm too cheap to pay someone. As black said heli coil would work great if you have enough meat left to drill out and install them. You should. Or you could try a longer bolt. Maybe you have some threads left further in. Try putting the bolt in without the anode to see how far in you can go to try to catch some thread. I always use loctite on my anodes also as I have had some vibrate loose in the past. Good luck let us know how it works out

kneedeep

After yesterday's frustration, I went back to try again today. It turns out my drive wouldn't go up because I had a dead battery. I decided to replace both starting batteries (house batts were replaced last year). Drive now works fine. I tried to install & tighten all piston anodes. Luckily, the one that I tried yesterday was the only one that is stripped. The other 3 went on & tightened up fine. On the one that strips out, I'm going to try a longer screw. When I put a screw in the piston without the anode on, it can go in deeper & there are good threads.

kneedeep

BD, thanks for the heli-coil suggestion. I looked them up & if the longer screw doesn't work, that's what I'll try. R312, you were right, I was able to catch some threads deeper in - hopefully there are enough good threads left. Thank you both for the suggestions!

rinker312

Don't forget the loctite

OldDogNewTrix

Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery without a huge dent to the pocket book.

craigswardmtb

Mcmaster Carr is one of the best places for just about any screw you could imagine.

Michael T

Well Craig, I've got one h*ll of an imagination - but I might give them a try lol :-) MT

kneedeep

I was able to catch some good threads. The bolt was too long & would have bottomed out. I didn't want to cut it & ruin its threads, so I used 6 washers to build it up. It caught & didn't bottom out. Thanks for the suggestions.