Speedseal Nuts

[Norman_E]

I have bought a Speedseal impeller cover, which came with four very nice knurled nuts. I met a friend at LIBS who told me that in the confined space it was hard to get them tight enough to avoid leaks due to the nuts slackening themselves. I have modified all four with a slit to take a coin so that they can easily be tightened just a little more than can be achieved by fingers alone.

 

[thailand69]

That's a good idea.

(I had to think twice about how to phrase the above /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)

 

[Aja]

Much better than my method of tightening with a pair of pliers!

Donald

 

[jerryat]

Sounds to me as if there's something wrong. You are only compressing a tiny diameter 'O' ring so finger tight ought to be more than adequate. 'Tis on my pump anyway!!! Are you sure the pump body/plate isn't distorted or damaged in some way?!!

 

[Csail]

50p would be better!

 

[simonfraser]

araldite the coins in place ?

 

[Kawasaki]

Things MUST be dearer darnsarf. Look at the size of the Pound!
Phew, expensive mod. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[chrisbailey]

thats not a pound its a euro, only worth 67p and overvalued at that.

shouldn't need to put that much preassure on the screws might sheer the heads off. mine dosen't leak when finger tight.

 

[Dougie_the_Mate]

I have never had any bother with the ones on our boat.

 

[Norman_E]

It is just to stop them vibrating undone, on my Yanmar the O ring is in the pump housing and the cover is just a flat plate. Very little pressure is needed for a seal, but in the confined space it is hard to get them tight enough with just fingertips, so the coin slots are just a bit of "belt and braces". Very easily done on my home made milling machine but could be done with a hacksaw and thin file otherwise.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I replaced the paper gasket with a thin rubber gasket. Replaced the screws with studs locked into the pump body with locktight and put wingnuts onto the studs.

Much easer to locate cover over the stud and wingnuts can be tightened more than the speedseal knurled screws

 

[ianwoods]

I had same prob of getting my fingers onto the nut under the pulley flange on !GM10 - drilled 2 X 3mm holes at rt angles through knurling. Now can gently tighten with a small 2mm allen key.

 

[Kawasaki]

"That's not a Pound it's a Euro"
One day I'll get off Anglesey.
It must be a Big World out there!
Knurled nuts with a split
On second thoughts I'll stay put!

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Vibrating loose can happen, been there, off Beachy Head in lumpy weather and had an interesting 20 minutes drifting. The loose cover allowed water to be pumped into the engine bay but didn't draw attention until the cover worked loose enough to affect the cooling. Temp alarm went off, check under the deck plates and see the impeller cover hanging from one bolt.

I do the things up tightly now

 

[sarabande]

I took the liberty of raising this issue with Speedseal, as I am about to buy a kit for my engine.

They had a very quick reply. I wonder if there are more instances of problems with tightening the nuts, than have been notified to them ?

<span style="color:red">If there is an issue, they would like to know </span>

email to : safety@speedseal.com

REPLY START
"In twelve years we have had only a couple of instances of this which have been due to the user not following the instructions fully. The reason for the screws remaining secure is the upward pressure exerted by the compressed O-ring which is made of a stiff nitrile material. This creates a lock-washer effect on the head of the screws.

In many installations there is not room for a larger head, and the record seems to indicate that it is not needed. Neither are other tightening aids, and they would detract from the ease of use. However, our instructions do include the advice - “Those who cannot apply normal hand pressure should use a gripper. Keep this in the emergency kit near the pump.”
REPLY END