Fuel Fitting replacement

[muskyfins]

Hey folks. Hope someone can help me.

Need to replace my fuel fill thru hull fitting on 94 Rinker 265 Fiesta Vee cruiser. It screws on from the outside of the hull aft of the rear bench seat on the port side. mounted on what I would describe as the aft section of gunwale. (pics tomorrow I promise). The OEM plastic unit is cracked and Im planning on replacing with a SS part, but how are you supposed to get up there to unscrew the hose clamp? It is at least 12" or more like 18" from the closest access point. Already looked at unscrewing it from the glass and pulling up an out but the hose clamp is too big to pass thru the opening. Am I missing something? Thanks.

 

[GA_Boater]

Am I missing something?

Yeah - Long, skinny arms. I wish designers were forced to maintain what they come up with!

Before you have pics, can the seat back be removed to reach up to the clamps?

 

[muskyfins]

Pictures as promised

As you can see, the area is about 4" wide





I'm thinking of cutting a small access hole in the side wall, and adding a cover plate



The seat base is part of the floor. Engine hatch is in he floor. Tough to see from this picture, but the closest access point is still 4 inches below the left corner of the storage bin. So total of nearly 24" on a 45 degree angle and even then, the gap is only about 4" wide. I'm not sure how I'd get a screwdriver on the hose clamp to get it off any way.

Any ideas?

 

[GA_Boater]

Oh boy! I bet they put the hose on the filler before putting the cap on the hull.

Are you planning any stereo upgrades? A speaker and grille would make a decent access point and not look out of place.

 

[Davetowz]

Pull the storage bin, might be able to reach in and use a 1/4" ratchet and probably a 5/16 socket to loosen the clamp or clamps. At least it should give you access to see what you are into.

 

[muskyfins]

So, I was looking at what could be done and noticed that the clamp almost fit through the hole. I also realized a slightly bigger hole would have allowed the clamp body to fit through and still allow the flange of the fitting a place to screw down.

After unscrewing the flange of the old fitting, I pulled up a little to have access to the fiberglass. I used a rotary tool with a special fiberglass bit to open a small slot on the edge of the hole, just big enough for the clamp body to slip through. There was enough slack in the hose to pull it through far enough to access both clamps. I replaced the fitting and then screwed the flange back down. She's a little greasy but that cleaned right up.

So I guess problem solved.