262 Head Pan Noise

[jsdittmer]

Hello,
Could use some opinions, and I know you have them

In my 2003 262, towards the end of last season, a loud popping sound started coming from my head area. I thought it was the door since there are a couple of heavy amps on it, and the latch doesn't tend to click in very well (I would also like to have a solution for that which will keep the door closed tightly), but that's not what it was. We realized with enough weight in the head room the noise would stop, so I figure it was the pan.

Sure enough, after taking the carpeted trim off, you can clearly see the pan has shifted, and the point at which it rubs, AND LOUDLY! It's really tight there so I can't really push something in between. I also didn't see a good way to readjust the pan. I was thinking of cutting off the corner to allow for more room, then line it all with dense foam the best I can.

What do you think? Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Any suggestions?

See the pics.

Thanks!!

[jsdittmer]

First pic is of the underneath from the ski locker and uploaded upside down for some reason.

[AsLan7]

First pic is of the underneath from the ski locker and uploaded upside down for some reason.

.
Rotated the pic for ya’ jsd.
I think your boat is possessed with all the issues you’ve had. I’ve never heard of this floor pan problem either on these models. Was this boat in an accident at one time? May be time to sell and move on.

You Definitely want to move those amps from their current location. Nothing should hang from that head door. The amps need to be moved to the firewall underneath the rear seat or in the compartment in front of the helm.

You’re going to have to locate the original screw holes for that floor pan and get that piece back where it is supposed to be. May need a floor jack to help lift.

[akorcovelos]

Something abnormal happened to cause that. On my head you can remove all the screws holding the floor pan in and it still won't move unless you remove the angle brackets underneath like in your first picture. Do you normally have heavy subs sitting on the floor? Maybe prolonged weight plus busting waves has dislodged it? Be very careful if you try to jack that back in to place. Keep a close eye on all the spots it contacts to make sure you don't crack anything.

[jsdittmer]

Well that’s concerning. I don’t believe there has been any accident with this boat, as in general it’s in excellent condition. There are no indications on the inside fiberglass walls or the exterior whatsoever. Actually, it’s been an awesome boat with the exception of the steering issues and now this shifted head pan.

Turns out this past week the steering really got bad and started leaking power steering fluid, which was a good thing to identify the issue. It was one of the seals on the power steering assist actuator, which was the entire problem and one of the original suggestions in that thread. Turns out a shop tech suspected this, but since there was no direct failure indication he didn’t want to swap it out for that kind of money and be wrong (well this is what the boss said). It was a bit frustrating to keep bringing it back with no action taken, nor any real acknowledgment of the issue with options. This past week it turned into an emergency. Good news is that they replaced it and it steers perfectly like it should. I will update that thread as well for anyone reading it what the problem was.

This head pan is a much stranger thing. I may need to consult more experts on it, but despite being bewildered on what caused it, I don’t know if it’s a huge deal as long as I fix the noise. The bracket below is tight and in place. And all the fiberglass around it from what I can see from the ski locker looks perfect. It might just be one of those strange things.

I do want to move the amps, which I didn’t like where the previous owner placed them on the door, but as far as I know inside the head was just normal storage items like filler cushions and lifejackets. I do have a very large dual sub enclosure behind the helm seat, but it’s only been there.

The only other issue I’ve ever had is hitting a log last year floating in the Ozarks, which 1000 other people did too so I chock that up to simply bad luck. Hopefully there’s no real possession here LOL

Thanks for all the help!