Water leaking at transom/Latham fittings

sleek1 · 09-26-2009, 02:47 AM

I have water leaking around my Latham thru hull fittings (T fittings) on my transom. I want to take them off and reseal the contact points. What do I use to seal the thru hull area? Also my manual says to use Quicksilver power steering fluid, yet I hear guys running ATF in their systems... wich is correct?

Griff · 09-26-2009, 01:54 PM

For Latham Hyd steering, use ATF. I would seal the holes with 3M 4200.

sleek1 · 09-27-2009, 05:23 PM

Griff, thanks for the reply. Is ATF compatible with the Quicksilver PS fluid or do I need to drain and flush then put ATF in? If I need to remove the fittings in the future, will that be a problem with 4200? I not very familiar with that compound ( is it permanent?).

Griff · 09-28-2009, 12:55 AM

4200 has half the holding power of 5200. I would not think you would have a problem getting the fittings out if needed later. If you already have the QS PS fluid in there, then I'd probably just keep running that, but it should be fine if you mix in ATF. Most hyd steering manufacturers say to use ATF.

c_deezy · 09-28-2009, 02:25 PM

We put ours in with 5200. But we don't plan on ever taking them out hopefully, hindsight now, 4200 may be a better option in case you strip a thead out on the fitting and need to replace it for some reason. Ideally you would want to clean out all of the previous sealant/adhesive from the holes, seal the holes with epoxy then reassemble.

sleek1 · 09-30-2009, 07:26 PM

Thanks guys, I dropped the boat off at my mechanic's shop. I told him to reseal the fitting, drain the steering and put in ATF, also to change the filter. I need to get one more good trip to the lake before the water gets too cold.