Vinyl problem on above ground pool

[notsure]

My above ground pool was set up in 2008. I emptied my water out, i now realize i probably should not have done. When i started refilling with water i noticed the vinyl around my returns, either slipped or stretched out from around them. When water was in, the vinyl was pulled down toward ground where water could go between vinyl and wall of pool. I emptied the level back down below the returns. This caused the vinyl to go back to its original place. So my question is...while level is low, can i put my fittings back over the vinyl then use silicone or some such product to help hold vinyl in place as well as tightening the fittings around it again? Or will it likely just pull right back out from under it when i add water again? And i assume i should get new gaskets, i guess it what you call them that fit between liner and fittings as they didn't look in great shape to me which is why the vinyl may have pulled out in first place.
Also i noticed a small hole in liner at bottom of my pool, if you took your thumbnail and poked through liner, that is about the size of it. Will a repair kit work well for it? With water level down, the hole is now above water level.
Or I am wondering with all these problems if i would just be better off buying a new liner and starting all over.
Keep in mind I am female, and do just about everything myself, so fixing my existing seems the easiest solution to me and least expensive as long as i can keep the liner from pulling out of my returns when i add water again and i don't know how well or long the repair kits work. Please give me you best opinion, as i need to get this done quickly before a storm comes and just blows it all down. Thank you.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

When a liner gets more than 1-2 years old, you can not fully drain it because it shrinks. And as you found out, when you try to fill it back up, it does not typically stretch back into place.

I am not sure what you might be able to do to get the liner to seal around the jets (I have no experience with liner pools, so maybe someone else will have an idea)

I am afraid you might be looking at needing a new liner.

 

[notsure]

Thank you so much for welcoming me and commenting so quickly. Yes, i was afraid that might be the answer and I always seem to learn things the hard way.

If new liner is only resolution, then i must ask...at this time of year weather can quickly change. If that were to happen, could i temporarily patch the whole, put some water back in to keep pool from collapsing in case of a storm? As i also read that weather temp needs to be at least 75 degrees when installing a new liner. So if weather were to change before i am able to do so, then again could i add some water and then just wait until spring to install. If so, then what would be the minimum water amount i would need to put in to sustain it until spring. I will do my best to get this done before that but worst case scenario, was wondering if that would be an option?

 

[jblizzle]

How far up your walls are the jets?

In a typical pool closing, the water is drained down below the jet level (although that might be only for inground pools). Keeping the water up to where it is leaking might be enough to provide rigidity to keep the wind from damaging the pool, but again, kind of out of my area to knowledge

 

[notsure]

Thank you so much for answering. Since i have two returns on my pool, the bottom one is quite low probably about 2 feet from the bottom of pool. I usually just put a plug in that return when wintering. My guess the pool needs to be half full to protect against wind damage at least. Hoping to get the new liner installed this weekend if i receive it in time as storms are due Monday, Tuesday. I really appreciate the feedback.