Volvo Penta 2002 white smoke

[East Coast Sailor]

Advice needed please - The water pump on my old Penta 2002 had to be replaced which I did with a new one which had a new impeller already fitted. Since fitting the new pump I have had problems with water flow and lots of white smoke?? At idle there seems to be hardly any water from the exhaust but it does come out with more revs but also with lots of smoke. The engine has been regularly serviced and starts first time on the button.
Any advice will be very welcomed

 

[Stemar]

It sounds as though that white smoke is steam. My guess is that there's a blockage in the water system somewhere and a likely culprit is the exhaust elbow if it hasn't been cleaned for a while. I was able to resurrect mine with by soaking it for a day or two in brick cleaner. If it's completely knackered, Keyparts in Watford have them. They also have the gasket and sealing rings for the water pipes.

Something to consider if the exhaust has overheated is that the rubber pipe and any silencer may be damaged.

 

[eddystone]

I would take cover off raw water pump to check impeller if fitted properly; is it possible that water pump has been installed incorrectly restricting water flow - hard to think what because fairly simple but there is a splined shaft, some seals and a couple of ball races.

 

[eddystone]

But why look at exhaust elbow if it was OK before and only thing that has changed in new water pump?

 

[MoodySabre]

Could it be that a more effective water pump has sucked weed into the inlet? Some inlets have a grid over them supposedly to keep stuff out but also they constrict the flow and are a handy home for barnacles and weed.

 

[Stemar]

Presumably, there was an issue with the cooling before; it wouldn't be the first time one fault has disguised another and you still have a problem. I'm probably biased towards the exhaust elbow having just had a problem with mine. I tend not to think about filters because mine's part of the seacock, but the sealing rings on plastic filters have been known to leak, meaning the pump sucks air instead of water. A bit of Vaseline would help seal it, if so.

On the raw water cooled version, IIRC, there's a little rubber pipe on the pump outlet. If yours is freshwater cooled, there's probably something similar. Take that off and turn the engine over. A good flow would suggest the problem is downstream - did a vane come off the old impellor and get somewhere it shouldn't?

The trick is to work through the possible issues logically. Good luck!

 

[East Coast Sailor]

Thank you for the advice, the boat is on the hard at the moment, I ran the engine and put antifreeze through the system which did seem to clear a load of gunk, I also checked the intake which looked ok. I’m wondering whether to replace the impeller as the new one in the pump could have been poorly fitted. I will also check the exhaust elbow. Thank You

 

[East Coast Sailor]

Presumably, there was an issue with the cooling before; it wouldn't be the first time one fault has disguised another and you still have a problem. I'm probably biased towards the exhaust elbow having just had a problem with mine. I tend not to think about filters because mine's part of the seacock, but the sealing rings on plastic filters have been known to leak, meaning the pump sucks air instead of water. A bit of Vaseline would help seal it, if so.

On the raw water cooled version, IIRC, there's a little rubber pipe on the pump outlet. If yours is freshwater cooled, there's probably something similar. Take that off and turn the engine over. A good flow would suggest the problem is downstream - did a vane come off the old impellor and get somewhere it shouldn't?

The trick is to work through the possible issues logically. Good luck!

Thank you I will definitely give that a go ??