Blue Plastic Drain Plugs

picturethis

Do these need to be replaced when they start turning colors on the threads?   I took all 5 of these plugs out today and 2 had the threads turning white, Id imagine from heat

anybody break one off trying to spin it off?

rinker312

I hear people say they break them all the time. I don't think you have to replace them if they are not broken. But you should probably have a few spares on hand. The way I winterize I do not remove them so I have not had any issues with them yet. 

BoatAway

picturethis said:

Do these need to be replaced when they start turning colors on the threads?   I took all 5 of these plugs out today and 2 had the threads turning white, Id imagine from heat

anybody break one off trying to spin it off?

yes, they break once in a while. And that usually means having to extract the threaded portion out of the hole since the winged part is in your hand. What's worse is that they have a hole through the threaded part so it no longer provides a seal even if it's in there.

They're cheap so replacing when you see wear or having extras on hand for when they break is a good idea.

Cableguy Greg

I would replace them every five or so years. I had one of them break off. It had a small crack in it that I didn't know about and the water pressure blew it apart. I had to use a screw with teflon tape wrapped around the threads to get back to the dock. I used an easy out to get it out of the exhaust manifold.

Babyboomer

http://www.wholesalemarine.com/mercruiser-blue-plastic-drain-plug-by-sierra.html?utm_medium=cse&utm_source=pricegrabber

Babyboomer

On my houseboat I have twin 3.0 Mercruisers with single point drain the blue hoses in the picture really made it nice winterizing you would think they would have this system for larger engines I still ran wire up the hose to check for clogs but the pink ran out and I snapped them back in place filled with pink stuff and closed the hatches.

picturethis

I like that winterizing system,    wonder why merc didnt start this 10 years ago on all their i/o

Babyboomer

My engines are 2008 so it's nothing new

Dream_Inn

Yes, definitely change the blue plugs when you have wear on them.  I've had to drill one out and what a pain.  I replace and have some on hand at all times.