Taps plate hanging down

[Charris13]

Hi all. So I went out to check on the boat in storage this weekend, and I noticed the TAPS plate was hanging down. For reference, the boat is a 2004 22v. The hydraulic ram is still attached to the boat with the black pin at the top, what it looks like is the black plastic piece (that is attached to the stainless plate) that slides into the hollow metal rod simply fell out. The boat hasn’t moved, and there is no sign of hardware that fell to the ground, also I don’t see a hole where a pin would slide through these two pieces. Further, if a pin slid through these two pieces, I don’t know how the plate would articulate up and down. What it looks like is the plastic piece slides into the hollow portion of the ram and is then crimped. I’m guessing that since the temperature dropped to the mid-20’s the materials contracted and the fit was no longer tight.

The question is, has anyone ever seen an issue like this? Is it repairable or does it require a brand new unit?

Thanks!!

[WakerideN]

never seen this.. makes you think water trapped might have expanded it???

[IDBoating]

Hard to imagine they'd rely solely on a crimp of thin tubing to hold that together. But if that was enough originally, I'd think some good strong adhesive might be enough to hold it in again. The water pressure would tend to press the fitting together so unless you use it as a step....

Also: Why not a pin through the plastic part and metal tube? It's the tube that acts as the hydraulic piston. There wouldn't normally be movement between the plastic part and the tube end. Seems like you could drill that and install a stainless cotter pin or equivalent.

[Charris13]

Thanks for the input guys. Just got off the phone with Lenco the manufacturer of the electric trim tab and thought I'd close the loop on this in case anyone comes across this thread in the future.

They said this happens occasionally. Basically the actuator came apart. He said it could have been due to water but there shouldn't be any water in that shaft. Unfortunately, there isn't a repair that they recommend. The model installed on my boat happens to be their basic piece (good news for availability and price.) A very helpful customer service rep gave me the replacement part number and directed me to a few places online that stock this item. Installation is as simple as removing the old actuator, installing and reconnecting the wires. He mentioned that the actuators do come with a three-year warranty. However, it is non-transferrable.

Thanks again!

[jzts0214]

My 04 did the same thing in the winter one time. I just pushed it back together and it worked.

[boatdr]

Water gets into the space between the end and the ram, when it freezes it will push the ram apart. Same way it will crack an engine block and manifolds.

[MizzouWake]

My '04 has done this the last two years. Last year I simply pushed it back together and it lasted all season until I took it out of storage this year. This year the metal rod (has a sharp edge) actually shaved some of the plastic off when pushing it back together. Now it's loose and wont stay together when using on the lake. I'm going to try drilling a hole through rode/plastic piece and installing a through bolt to keep connected. Hopefully this does the trick.