Thanks for that. Looking at the cost of a seal and bearing kit I’m considering fitting a new pump. Is Repower Marine stuff decent quality?
I’m going to be checking the pulleys, although the water is being thrown away from the engine which is rusting the port side front engine mount. I did notice some rust on that mount when I bought the boat so this has probably been going on a while, just getting worse. Another reason to sort the problem asa.
Agree, I did mine last year. As others havd said, bearings and seals can be bought from bearing shops quite cheaply but the water seal must have a stainless garter spring and if there is even the slightest wear on the shaft where the seal lips contacts the new seal will not last long. I bought the complete Pump overhaul kit containing bearings, seals and shaft (Orbitrade part number 22136-2) available from ASAP for £82. Talk to me before you do it though as there are a few things that are not obvious and can result in trouble.
Remind me again how much ‘better’ stern drives are than shafts.....<runs, ducking and weaving>You're joking right? I have to strip mine down to the block if I want to do anything other than to the front of the engine. Tightening a jubilee clip at the back? It's a days job. So I have the experience of two types of marine engineer in my distant past. One that looks, sucks through his teeth and says he will get back to me only for me to find he has black listed my number on his mobile. The other's eyes lights up and you can see him quiver in excitement at the prospect of buying his next supercar.
Cheers for that
At one point I considered taking the batteries out to access the pump but decided it would be an equally gynecological manoeuvre, plus hefting two 170ah batteries to boot. The battery switches are where your access hatch is, I assume you moved them? Overall an easy job, other than separating the pump from the bottom hose and then lining up the drive for the pump blind.
My battery switches are to the starboard side so did not have to move them. If you are only ever going to swap pumps and change the impeller on the bench (i have found it best to fit a new impeller every 150hrs) then you don't need the access hatch that I fitted. I don't have a spare pump so need to be able to do an easy impeller change in situ. The O-ring between pump and engine is 68mm ID X 3mm crosssection nitrile. Much cheaper from bearing shop or online than vp price. Did you notice the black plastic drive coupling behind the pump? While the pump is off the engine it can fall out!Cheers for that
Luckily it came out with the old pump, otherwise I’d have missed it. Behind the first step on mine are two switches, the purpose of which I’m unclear on, and to port is a 1/2/both/off switch. I change impeller with an impeller puller and use an oil filter clamp to ‘squeeze’ the new impeller in. Only a moderate bruise rating....
that sums it upYou're joking right? I have to strip mine down to the block if I want to do anything other than to the front of the engine. Tightening a jubilee clip at the back? It's a days job. So I have the experience of two types of marine engineer in my distant past. One that looks, sucks through his teeth and says he will get back to me only for me to find he has black listed my number on his mobile. The other's eyes lights up and you can see him quiver in excitement at the prospect of buying his next supercar.
I think that it’s always a good idea to have a spare serviceable pump to hand. It’s always much easier to refurbish a pump when there’s no time pressure to get the job done. When it comes to refurbishing a pump I’ve found Simply Bearings to be a one stop shop for bearings, seals and importantly, hard stainless sleeves which go over the shaft, covering any wear grooves.
