[Rockter]

I have a similar version of the Groco raw water strainer in the picture below.
The fitting on the top - that top-hat with the three hole idents in it - is jammed solid and will not move.
Does it need some form of special tool to move it?

I have managed to clean it with a water back-flush but one day I am going to have to get the top off it.

It is an expensive unit. I really don't want to break it.

For those others that have a similar unit, beware the wee plastic drain plug at the bottom. It will snap like biscuit if you even slightly over-tighten it.

Thanks.

 

[Jeff_H]

I have no brilliant ideas except to gently heat the casting while cooling the top, followed by healthy doses of PB Blaster., Followed by turning the top with a spanner.while holding the casting with a oil filter wrench

If those techniques don't work then you might follow the advise from an old Harken video in which they showed how to install new ball bearings in a cam cleat using a credit card. The beginning of the video showed that there are 66 small ball bearings in a cam cleat. The narrator says that the easiest way to deal with a device that has lost its ball bearings is to use a credit card. Then the narrator walks up to a cashier in a store and hands them a new cam cleat and a credit card and says, "See how easy that is".

The video was actually an in-house gag and probably should never have been shown to the public. But there are times that you can spend a lot of time trying to fix the unfixable, and in reality, the easy fix unfortunately just requires a credit card.

(Don't get me wrong, I would try everything that you can think of. After all, I am the guy who refused to pay the ridiculous price being charged for a new ignition switch, and so spent a weekend machining a penny to replace the copper connector that had burned through due to arcing)

Jeff

 

[Antibes]

I use a long screwdriver on its side to twist mine off. the shaft of the screwdriver will sit in between the protrusions

 

[AWT2_Sail]

i have used my adjustable two prong spanner used to get into my fill plates to open this on my boat, similar to this tool for removing an angle grinder wheel.

 

[VIEXILE]

Jeff H hit it. An PB blaster for a day or so ahead of time, an ice cube on top and a little heat around the body.

 

[overbored]

Remove the bowl and spray the pb blaster from the inside the o ring will not let it get to the threads from the top

 

[olson34]

Finally, whether new or used, put some grease on those threads when you put it back together.

 

[wsmurdoch]

SW-2531 Bronze Spanner Wrench GROCO

SW-2531 Bronze Spanner Wrench GROCO

www.groco.net

Groco's wrench fits Groco's strainer cap.

 

[Nico-Zeil]

I replaced all mine with newer groco which has a plastic top. They suggest hand tight only. On the older ones I had with the bronze top like the one shown in the picture, I always used the Groco tool.

If you do it get loose, before reassembling, check O-Rings for cracking and replace if so. And ALWAYS coat the O-rings with Silicon Grease before reassembly. Remove the drain plug and check that o=ring also and replace if bad. Silicon Grease that also that needs to be drained before winterization. Do not use regular grease as it will destroy the O-Ring.

Gd luck

Nick