Installing Transom O-Ring

[83Dana454]

I am in the process of installing my Berkeley pump back into the boat after rebuilding it and I am having some difficulty installing the transom housing. The problem that I am having is that I cannot slide the transom housing over the o-ring that seals the transom to the bowl. I have the o-ring started into the housing by lubing it up and pulling it on with the transom housing to hull bolts but the o-ring is such a tight fit I'm scared to pull it on anymore for fear of damaging my hull. When I pulled the pump out to begin with there was no o-ring, only silicone sealing the bowl to the transom. Is there a trick to installing the transom housing or is it a common practice to ditch the o-ring for a bead of silicone rubber? Thanks

[fleetimus]

Ditch the oring. Silicone is the answer!!!!! :hammerhea

[AdrenelineOD]

Mine would never fit if I had used the o-ring.

[83Dana454]

Well glad to hear that I'm not the only one that's found it impossible to use the o-ring. I didn't know if I was using the right cuss words or just had them in the wrong order but I had most of them covered trying to get that housing on. haha Thanks for the info.

[Mohavekid]

Some white low temp grease, a rubber mallet and a block ow wood worked for me.
It was not easy, but it went on.

[TRG]

Phil-D-gash! thats the name of the game! last time i had to install my TA i filled the slot (were the O ring lays) with sillycum and slide it on!
cleaned the residue (if needed) then proceeded to lay a nice beed of sillycum around the join!
sorry,...my spelling sucks today! lol
todd
dont know were to get "SILLYCUM" so dont ask! lol

[1978 Rogers]

Don't use grease or oil on the o ring. Use some dish soap on the inside of the transome adaptor. Put in especially on the tapered lip. Have a buddy help you. Like it was said before use a mallet or small sledge and a piece of wood. Tap it a few times then tighten up the slack on the screws. Keep at it. I've done mine a few times this way. It's a bitch at first. But, looks a hell a lot better than a bead of caulk between the bowl and transom adaptor.
Did you run a bead of silicone on both sides of the rubber transom gasket?

[Back Forty]

I redid mine this year and did exactly what 78 Rogers did. Use lots of dish soap because it won't stay slippery forever. I carefully put the housing in place until it stopped against the o ring and then put some ass into it which worked to get it almost against the transom. I took a 12" 2x4 and put one end into a new welding glove I had so as to not scratch the new paint work on the housing while hammering. I used a rubber mallet and went around the housing many times until the gasket was lightly clamped around the housing. You can check to see by using a flat blade screw driver to push the gasket checking for movement around the parimeter of the housing. Once I got it as close as I could I rtv'd each hole, ran the screws in and redid the hammer thing a couple of times re tightning the screws each time I made a pass with the hammer. I have never used my bilge pump even once this year including an 8 hour trip from Cincy to Louiville Ky and back on on the Ohio. My transom looked like total hell because of a shit RTV job by the previous owner. I wouldn't recommend RTV to anybody. It will turn to a hiddeous shit color afterwhile and you'll regret it after doing hardly any less work to do it right. IMHO... :rollside:
I went from this abortion,
http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B8492723232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3C57%3D%3C45 %3DXROQDF%3E2323634597556ot1lsi
to this,
http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B8492723232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3C57%3D%3C45 %3DXROQDF%3E232363458%3C%3B9%3Bot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B8492723232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3C57%3D%3C45 %3DXROQDF%3E2323634594292ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B8492723232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3C57%3D%3C45 %3DXROQDF%3E2323634597848ot1lsi
After a season, it still looks as good as in the pics. The little film of RTV I found near one the of the screws that was almost undetectable when it was fresh but showed up after the first trip to the water. It easily cleaned off but man all of that work would have been a waste if I had caved into using RTV to seal up the pump. Just my experience. :)

[1978 Rogers]

Back Forty, Your pictures of before & after say it all.
Chris

[miketsouth]

http://www.chiefaircraft.com/Aircraft/Chemical/Images/ORING_LUBE4OZ.jpg
one of many places to get it (http://www.allorings.com/olube.htm)

[Back Forty]

Interesting.
I forgot to add that the only RTV I used was the screw holes in order to keep water out of the wood. The transom gasket is without RTV. It is seated properly and doesn't leak a drop...

[83Dana454]

Well after alittle more fighting with the transom housing tonight I was able to get it installed using the o-ring. I figured that having the o-ring installed would add alot more support to the pump then a bead of silicone could. Thanks for all the input.

[Danhercules]

To get mine on, we got he bottom screws started, and then tightend them up to start the next ones up, and then the next ones, untill we got the top ones started. Then used the bolts to suck it up. Worked great. No leaks.

[shaun]

Has anybody had a problem with there o-ring squeezing out? Mine was silliconed in and when i put mine back together i was told to use sillicon for the same reason, just wondering if anybody had any experience with that.

[1978 Rogers]

Has anybody had a problem with there o-ring squeezing out? Mine was silliconed in and when i put mine back together i was told to use sillicon for the same reason, just wondering if anybody had any experience with that.
Maybe if it is loose, I guess. The first time I bought a new O ring. The old one was stretch out some. Mine fit pretty snug in the grove. I just used dish soap so it would slide.