Purchased a 1988 O'Day 302 last summer and have a Groco HF toilet that was original to the boat. Everything works fine except the pump is hard to operate -- a real bear to pull up the first time. I greased the stainless steel shaft, but it didn't help much. (Here's the real deal: I can pull it up with a bit of leverage, but it's tough for my wife to operate it!) The repair kit is in the $50-60 range. A new head seems to cost about $130-150 and I know it's not extremely difficult to install -- I put a new one in our old O'Day 240 a couple of years ago. Seems to me that the amount of work involved in overhauling a 17-year-old toilet vs. putting in a new one would be similar...and in the end I would still have a 17-year-old toilet. So I'm thinking it's best to pop for the extra cost of a new toilet. Am I missing something? Thanks for your thoughts. And, if you do recommend a new toilet, what would you recommend?
Replace or rebuildl?
- Thread starter Steve L22188
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My Experience
Funny you should write about this. I just rebuilt the Groco HF in my Dad's boat. It was 20 years old and had not been done. The rebuild is easy if you have a LONG spade screwdriver and if everything isn't siezed on. Use some liquid wrench to loosen the screws holding the pump to the bronze base. This is a good head. If it is old, I'd just get a new pump assembly and replace it tho, regardless of what I did. Rick D.
Funny you should write about this. I just rebuilt the Groco HF in my Dad's boat. It was 20 years old and had not been done. The rebuild is easy if you have a LONG spade screwdriver and if everything isn't siezed on. Use some liquid wrench to loosen the screws holding the pump to the bronze base. This is a good head. If it is old, I'd just get a new pump assembly and replace it tho, regardless of what I did. Rick D.
First, try greasing the right part...
The pump shaft never comes in contact with the cylinder wall...only the rubber bits--seals, o-rings etc--do ...so greasing the shaft accomplishes nothing. Put a tablespoon of baby oil down the toilet and flush it...that will put the oil where it belongs...between the o-rings and cylinder wall. If that doesn't make it a lot easier to pump, get back to me. That tablespoon of oil will wash out in just a few flushes, so it's not a permanent fix. But it will let us know whether the toilet has other problems. If it does, it's prob'ly time to replace the toilet...'cuz I wouldn't recommend putting ANY money into a 17 yr old toilet. If it is, spend just a little more for a toilet that will give you more than a couple of years of trouble free service (they ain't building the $100-150 toilets today like they used to) for a Raritan PH II or PHC, which is the same pump on a compact base to fit in a tighter space.
The pump shaft never comes in contact with the cylinder wall...only the rubber bits--seals, o-rings etc--do ...so greasing the shaft accomplishes nothing. Put a tablespoon of baby oil down the toilet and flush it...that will put the oil where it belongs...between the o-rings and cylinder wall. If that doesn't make it a lot easier to pump, get back to me. That tablespoon of oil will wash out in just a few flushes, so it's not a permanent fix. But it will let us know whether the toilet has other problems. If it does, it's prob'ly time to replace the toilet...'cuz I wouldn't recommend putting ANY money into a 17 yr old toilet. If it is, spend just a little more for a toilet that will give you more than a couple of years of trouble free service (they ain't building the $100-150 toilets today like they used to) for a Raritan PH II or PHC, which is the same pump on a compact base to fit in a tighter space.
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