280 ring anode broke in half

[Ciera2450]

Hello,
Just home from the lake and had a suprise when I pulled the boat up the ramp....
When attaching the rear tie downs I noticed the ring anode behind the prop is broken almost exactly in half. One half still attached, the other at the bottom of the lake somewhere. There is a little ding in the prop from where I'm assuming the broken piece hit.
The top bolt is missing, I can see the threads in the housing and half of the threads remaining on the piece of anode. I don't know how the bolt could have fallen out...there isn't really room for it to do so with the line cutter and prop directly aft of the anode.

Did the bolt come loose and cause the anode to break? It was in "good" shape, it wasn't all corroded that I could tell and I boat in freshwater only. (speaking of freshwater, do I want an aluminum anode or zinc???)
Everything still operated fine while out for the past two days. I plan to take the prop off and inspect things further tomorrow morning. Hopefully nothing else was damaged.
Any thoughts guys?

 

[Don S]

Re: 280 ring anode broke in half

Did the bolt come loose and cause the anode to break?

Well, I wasn't there to watch it happen, but my guess is you are right about the bolt coming loose, it hit the spinning prop and broke the anode. Get a new screw and anode and put it back together. Not even sure if Volvo has that anode in aluminum.

 

[Ciera2450]

Re: 280 ring anode broke in half

Thanks for the reply Don. I found some aluminum versions online, they are touted as better by the sellers of course....Does it matter which material?
Should I loctite the screws? I had it apart before and there wasn't any thread locker,so I didn't use any.

 

[Don S]

Re: 280 ring anode broke in half

I've never used thread locker on them, I make sure they are tight by using an impact screwdriver to set the screw. I don't hit the driver like I'm trying to rip the threads out of the housing, just a firm hit to make sure it's tight.
I'm going to stay out of the material discussion.

 

[Ciera2450]

Re: 280 ring anode broke in half

Thank you sir for the help. I just ordered zinc replacement anodes, I didn't wait for a reply. (I'm hoping to have them by next weekend)
I'll take your advice and snug the screws down tighter. Have a great memorial day!