Stripped Screws in Hayward Main Drain Gasket

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Esand323

0
Aug 6, 2018
130
Indianapolis
Hi all,

I had a leak in our main drain pot. I found one of the screws was loose and it was causing us to lose 1.5" a day. The hole must be too large as the screw was just spinning. I took it out and put some Teflon tape on it and put it back in. It still would not catch, but fortunately, the leak stopped. It's not much of a fix though and probably just one bump away from leaking again.

I had a company come out and look at it today and they said that the wrong screws were used and that 3 of the 8 were stripped. 2 of them were practically completely popped out. We had a company install the liner last year, and it was a massive headache as they just screwed us (no pun intended) at every turn. The guy that came out said I should try and put the correct screws in. They were able to take a screw from the return line as a test and said 2 of 3 were still stripped, even with the correct screw. It sounds like I don't have many options. They said I could try using a skimmer screw as they are slightly longer, but I shouldn't do anything bigger or longer.

Any ideas? I don't want to have to drain the pool. I was thinking of trying to use Leakmaster Flexible Sealer and coat the screw in that.

Here is what screws I'm referring to.
mbd.jpg
 
I had the same problem. I discovered my loose screw while prepping for a new liner install so the water was already drained.
I emailed hayward to ask their advice and and they said:

"Please use the part number WGX1048EKIT, this is a
brass insert and screw kit."

Assuming your screw type is SPX1039Z18, however I couldn't find the kit online.

I ended up filling the hole with JB Weld and then drilling a new hole into that.
 
Thanks for the help. I got a set of the SPX1039Z18. I used some flexible sealer on the screw just to give it some more grip. A local supplier had recommended it. Out of the 8 wrong screws, 3 were stripped with one of those contributing to the leak as it was not tightened enough on the gasket. Replacing those three screws helped. 2 of the three screws took real well and had no problem. The other one didn't take very well. However, it was not the source of the leak, so I just put the screw in as best as I could. I left the other 5. The wrong screws that were used are a bit longer. So I wonder if the contractor used them for that reason. I'm just hoping this can last a bit longer!
 
Can you take one of the old screws to Home Depot and just get the next size larger (eg going from a 8 to a 6)? The new screw would just cut it's own new thread and allow the gasket to be tightened down better. Be careful, though, that the larger screw doesn't crack the thread fitting.
 
Thanks for the reply. I talked with a couple companies that said I shouldn't try larger screws as I have already stopped the leak and using larger ones could crack the drain (as you mentioned). So I figured I'd just use what I have now. I was able to stop the leak, so hopefully it holds. Looking back at it, I'm fairly certain this happened after I bumped the main drain while scrubbing the pool. I did give it a pretty good bump, but not hard enough that it should have caused a leak if it were properly installed.
 
Working under water would be most of the trick but if it leaks again try a few or three or four wooden tooth picks. Install them to the depth of the hole and fold over trying not to break them off so you have something to hold them down with. Install the screw. Three hands would be nice to do this.
 
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