HOW TO REMOVE 3M 5200

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pwsuser

New member
Hi, I am the guy who has a 30' bracket and was getting salt water in my motors so I ordered a new bracket. Now I am in the process of removing my bracket from my 2006 Tomcat. I loosened all 38 bolts holding it on, I still have my Suzuki 175s on there to help loosen the bracket, but it is stuck tight. My friend and I (about 400 pounds) jumped up and down on the end of the bracket with the motors still on, but the bracket holds tight. I read that Marine Formula Debond works to remove 5200 which is what I am assuming was put on when they built it in 2006.

Does anyone know if Debond works or have other ideas to get the bracket off?

Thanks,

Dave
 
It can be a bear. Debond may work if you can get it in there. Another thing to try is a thin wire or monofilament type line and "saw" through it. Probably it will have to be a combination of methods. Sometimes putting pressure on while you "saw" can help, but have a plan for what happens if/when it lets loose.
 
Sunbeam's methodmhas merit. You may be able to find a wire "survival saw" at an outdoor supply store like Cabela's. Rhese have a roughened or toothed exterior which may be able to cut through the 5200. I do not envy you. This is one of the nastiest jobs on earth.

Someone alluded to this, but I should make it explicit: get a solid piece of tackle, chain, etc., on each engine as you remove the bracket so when it breaks loose, the engine will be held up by an independent means.
 
Have done this several times.
Remove the motors now and any rigging in the way !
Debond works great. Start along the top horizontal surface, squirt the debond along the caulk seam, then using wood wedges start at a corner by pounding in the wedge, squirt more of the debond while cutting caulk with utility knife blade. Continue wedging, debonding, and cutting, along the top, then sides, then bottom of the pod.
Should take less than 1 hour.
Don't try to rip the pod off, the result will be gelcoat ripped off from the laminate.
alan
 
I agree with most of the posts above. Certainly the "new" un-adhesive" sounds like it would be worth a try. Debond, which I have used, is not fast, and leaves some gummy residue.

Get the engines off now. Keep steady pressure on the joint--I have several metal "slicks" which I set started, and keep tapping in--Oak wedges will work as followers, this is a very large surface area, and will go slowly. You want to keep a constant pressure outward on the joint. Concentrate all of the effort in one upper corner, and work across and downward.

I favor the piano wire--I think it may be difficult to get one of the survival saws in the joint. Heat helps, but the bracket is such a large heat sink, it may be difficult to get enough heat to break the bond, without damage.

At all costs you want to avoid damage to the gelcoat/fiberglass.

Typically C Dory used a Bostik compound for most of their bedding in this era--but it is very likely that 5200 was used in this application. The removal should be the same.
 
Thanks much for the quick and comprehensive replies. They are very helpful. I will try this today and let you know how it worked.

Dave
 
Too bad the "too long" Armstrong Brackets cannot simply be cut and sectioned or telescoped down to shorten them, rather than having to totally replace them. Would solve this problem as well as ordering shorter, replacement brackets. Has this possibility been explored?

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
I did explore that possibility. There is a guy here in Anchorage who can do that. However, as I calculated the new brackets are shorter (24' rather than 30') deeper, to provide more floatation at rest and they angle in on the sides. It would be prohibitively expense to make all the changes to be like the new ones and since the new design appears to be working I thought I would go with a proven model.

Know anyone who needs an old-style bracket? Not likely.

I just hope the new one takes care of the problem. I hate salt water getting on my new motors.

Dave
 
Hey, in scanned above a bit, and I think you got this advice already, but STOP!! Don't have 400 lb guys jumping up and down on your unbolted bracket with your engines mounted!! You are at risk of an instantaneous failure that will leave all on the ground and a damaged transom!!!

The bonding agent (probably 5200) can easily rip the gelcoat off your boat, you need to go about this slowly and use wedges, not brute weight.

I saw Dr. Bob mention piano wire. I agree with this completely!! Your finish will thank you. Guitar strings can also work and may be easier to come by.

If you have an old chisel you can get things started by carefully tapping it between the boat and the bracket and adding your solvent. Be careful not to drive the chisel into the gelcoat. As soon as you can switch to wood wedges you should. Use hardwood like oak, maple or hickory. USe a thin taper, like the type of shims used for hanging doors and windows, not big wedges like a doorstop.

Heat can help, but it may ignite your solvent. Be careful.

This is a fairly slow process. You keep slowly widening the gap and adding solvent, and cutting with the wire. Do this all the way around. RESIST the urge to rip the thing off once you get the top free.

Try to keep your wire against your bracket, not against your transom as you cut. a hacksaw blade can be a help too, just watch that finish.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for your concern Kushtaka, maybe I was not clear. I did not take the bolts out I just loosened them a 1/4" or so then applied pressure to see if the bracket was loose or would come loose. At that time I was not aware I was dealing with 5200.

I made another post on how we got the bracket off the Tomcat, but briefly we used multitools with very thin blades to cut the 5200. I tried Anti-bond, but it seemed to do little.

Thanks for your advice.
 
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