Thetford Rod Pulled Out

J

jtfred

Member
Feb 3, 2015
134
0
16
I've got a bit of a situation. Fortunately I'm not on the road but it could be a messy situation to get resolved. We had used the coach on a short
trip recently and when I tried to dump the black/gray tank the rod pulled out of the (I'm assuming) original Thetford valve. It looks like the bar
corroded and broke off. The valve that is stuck is the one on the outlet of the tank. The PO had installed a macerator and a second valve after the
macerator that feeds the original dump pipe. Since the valve is furthest up stream I'm not able to get the tank dumped. From the photos that I've seen
on the photo site it looks like the rod goes through the flange on the slide gate. I'm thinking that if I get a 1/4" lag bolt long enough I may be
able to screw that into the gate and pull it out to open the valve and get this thing drained. I do have a new valve assembly on the way to replace
the broken one so I will have a better idea of the assembly when that arrives. I'm looking for ideas so I can get this drained without getting an
unpleasant bath.

Thanks for the help!

John
--
John Fredrikson
Fayetteville, GA
1978 Eleganza
 
Send me pictures and contact me.

On Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 2:12 PM John Fredrikson via Gmclist <

> I've got a bit of a situation. Fortunately I'm not on the road but it
> could be a messy situation to get resolved. We had used the coach on a short
> trip recently and when I tried to dump the black/gray tank the rod pulled
> out of the (I'm assuming) original Thetford valve. It looks like the bar
> corroded and broke off. The valve that is stuck is the one on the outlet
> of the tank. The PO had installed a macerator and a second valve after the
> macerator that feeds the original dump pipe. Since the valve is furthest
> up stream I'm not able to get the tank dumped. From the photos that I've
> seen
> on the photo site it looks like the rod goes through the flange on the
> slide gate. I'm thinking that if I get a 1/4" lag bolt long enough I may be
> able to screw that into the gate and pull it out to open the valve and get
> this thing drained. I do have a new valve assembly on the way to replace
> the broken one so I will have a better idea of the assembly when that
> arrives. I'm looking for ideas so I can get this drained without getting an
> unpleasant bath.
>
> Thanks for the help!
>
> John
> --
> John Fredrikson
> Fayetteville, GA
> 1978 Eleganza
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
 
Thanks Jim! I'll give you a call.

John
--
John Fredrikson
Fayetteville, GA
1978 Eleganza
 
This happened to me in Yellowstone with the whole family using the dump tank. I think the rod had a cotter pin that went through a hole in the end of
the rod. The cotter pin had rusted and it allowed the Thetford rod to come out. I filled the air suspension to the top and crawled underneath, very
reluctantly, and was able to grab the protruding tube from the valve out to open it and dump the tank. Good Luck. Didn't create any fond memories for
me.
 
I spent a bit of time under there yesterday. The piece that fell out is the part that has the pin in it and attached to the gate valve inside. It
rusted through and pulled right out. I don't have anything to grab onto at this point to pull the gate. I'm not looking forward to getting showered
with the tank contents if I'm not able to get the gate opened. I may have to look into pumping the tank out from the top if it comes to that.

John
--
John Fredrikson
Fayetteville, GA
1978 Eleganza
 
I had one like that. Drilled a 1/4" hole on the opposite side, took a long
punch and tried to open the slide by driving the valve. No joy, it was
frozen in place. Tank was full. I have a portable mascerator pump with
hoses on it. I pumped it out through the toilet, and unbolted the valve
assembly. Holes were stripped in the tank, and someone had gooped up the
area around the dump valve. Soooooo, out came the tank, and I bought a new
tank without a built in valve. Plumbed in an in-line valterra valve. Way
better for service later. Crap don't hang up at the outlet either.
Vowed right then and there to NEVER work on black tanks that had been
used again. I replace them and replumb them, but absolutely no repairing.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Oregon

On Tue, Aug 27, 2019, 3:11 PM John Fredrikson via Gmclist <

> I spent a bit of time under there yesterday. The piece that fell out is
> the part that has the pin in it and attached to the gate valve inside. It
> rusted through and pulled right out. I don't have anything to grab onto at
> this point to pull the gate. I'm not looking forward to getting showered
> with the tank contents if I'm not able to get the gate opened. I may have
> to look into pumping the tank out from the top if it comes to that.
>
> John
> --
> John Fredrikson
> Fayetteville, GA
> 1978 Eleganza
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
> I had one like that. Drilled a 1/4" hole on the opposite side, took a long
> punch and tried to open the slide by driving the valve. No joy, it was
> frozen in place. Tank was full. I have a portable mascerator pump with
> hoses on it. I pumped it out through the toilet, and unbolted the valve
> assembly. Holes were stripped in the tank, and someone had gooped up the
> area around the dump valve. Soooooo, out came the tank, and I bought a new
> tank without a built in valve. Plumbed in an in-line valterra valve. Way
> better for service later. Crap don't hang up at the outlet either.
> Vowed right then and there to NEVER work on black tanks that had been
> used again. I replace them and replumb them, but absolutely no repairing.
> Jim Hupy
> Salem, Oregon

I do have a macerator in the box that I can use to pump the tank if I have to go that route.

It is gong to be a dirty job.

Thanks Jim!

John

--
John Fredrikson
Fayetteville, GA
1978 Eleganza
 
Have a Large bucket under it and loosen the valve little at a time. We
dothis type more often than we like.

On Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 7:12 PM John Fredrikson via Gmclist <

> > I had one like that. Drilled a 1/4" hole on the opposite side, took a
> long
> > punch and tried to open the slide by driving the valve. No joy, it was
> > frozen in place. Tank was full. I have a portable mascerator pump with
> > hoses on it. I pumped it out through the toilet, and unbolted the valve
> > assembly. Holes were stripped in the tank, and someone had gooped up the
> > area around the dump valve. Soooooo, out came the tank, and I bought a
> new
> > tank without a built in valve. Plumbed in an in-line valterra valve. Way
> > better for service later. Crap don't hang up at the outlet either.
> > Vowed right then and there to NEVER work on black tanks that had
> been
> > used again. I replace them and replumb them, but absolutely no repairing.
> > Jim Hupy
> > Salem, Oregon
>
> I do have a macerator in the box that I can use to pump the tank if I have
> to go that route.
>
> It is gong to be a dirty job.
>
> Thanks Jim!
>
> John
>
> --
> John Fredrikson
> Fayetteville, GA
> 1978 Eleganza
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
 
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