Leaking water pump on VP D12

[Nick_H]

Having fixed the exhaust elbow on the stbd engine, it now appears I have a drip from the water pump on the port engine. It seems to be coming from the gaps where the impeller housing bolts to the pump body, does that mean a leaking shaft seal? There's a drip every 5-10 secs with engine out of gear at 1000 rpm. Is this the kind of issue that needs immediate attention, or can I sort it at the end of my holiday in a months time, and prob 50 engine hours?

Edit: to clarify, I'm talking about the raw water pump, and the water is dripping from the area between the impeller housing and the pump body, I've corrected the description above. The drips fall straight into the bilge, not onto anything else.

 

[andy59]

If its leaking from sealing ring no 8 and dripping out where washer no 7 is then if it was mine , I would keep using it but order the service kit and keep an eye on it , the oil seal no 18 should stop any water ingress to the oil , all imho

 

[Nick_H]

Thanks Andy. Yes, it's dripping out where washer 7 is shown. There's no sign that the sea water has sprayed out at all at higher rpm, looks like is stays as a drip. What I'm keen to know is whether these things tend to just get slowly worse, in which case we can carry on until we can get it sorted, or whether something more serious can happen that may cause us to lose an engine or cause more damage

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Don't know the answer, sorry Nick - but just wanted to express sympathy for the slight kicking your D12's are giving you at the moment.

 

[aquatom]

It will slowly get worse. If left unchecked it will eventually spray water upwards in to the alternator. Order the replacement parts and keep checking it.

 

[DAKA]

It will slowly get worse. If left unchecked it will eventually spray water upwards in to the alternator. Order the replacement parts and keep checking it.

I would be happy to carry on as others have said although you do need to use copious amounts of fresh water every day to rinse the salt away from the engine parts.

It's a very easy quick repair if you can get a seal, just need a good sturdy bollard on a quayside .

 

[Nick_H]

It will slowly get worse. If left unchecked it will eventually spray water upwards in to the alternator. Order the replacement parts and keep checking it.

Thanks Aquatom and Daka. I've ordered a service kit, and I'm hoping the engineer can come and fit it in the next two days as access is pretty poor due to the wing fuel tanks, so I'm less confident doing it myself. There seems to be a bit of a consensus that if I can't get it fixed here it's OK to proceed with caution, but keep a close eye on it until I can get it done.

 

[Nick_H]

Don't know the answer, sorry Nick - but just wanted to express sympathy for the slight kicking your D12's are giving you at the moment.

Thanks Jimmy. Over 8 years of ownership I really can't complain, they've been pretty solid, but I think a thorough check is due after this holiday to try and avoid some of these problems. They're minor issues until you need them fixed in July in SoF with family on board, when they become mountains to climb!