So, last week I am on my way to
Catalina. About 1 mile from Two Harbors I notice smoke coming from down below. I yell to my wife to take the
wheel and I dive
head first into the
galley. Smoke is pouring out from underneathe the sink. I'm suspecting a broken
exhaust hose. I open the cabinet and it is full of steam, not smoke. Good thing. I can't see the source, then realize that this is not the
raw water, but the
coolant boiling off. I check the temp gauge and it is pegged over to the right past 220. Ok, I shut the
engine down and get on the
radio to the harbor master. He says if I can sail closer to the
mooring field he'll give me a courtisey tow to a
mooring. Done.
While on the mooring I suspect I have blown the
head gasket or warpped the head from the
overheating. I call my
mechanic at S&W Diesle to discuss my options. He suspects that maybe I picked up a plastic bag and choked off the
raw water. He also suggests that I refill it with
coolant and start it up. If it is the head, I'm not going to do anymore damage with a short run. So I top off the coolant, turn the key and she starts right up with no problems. Temp is riding good at 170, I'm thinking problem
solved. I go down below to look at the
engine and I notice that the belt is flinging thin, green oily crap everywhere. What the Hell. I cut the engine and have a look. The Fresh
Water Circulation
Pump Gasket has given away and is leaking like a stuck pig. Now I know where the problem is.
Next problem, Taking off the
pump is easy, loosen the belt, remove 4 bolts and I'm done. My
mechanic tells me that he has 2 new pumps on the shelf --BUT-- the pully has to be pressed off and on. DAMN!
Here's the
kicker, I had just renewed my Vessle Assist card the day before. It took affect at mid-night the previous night. I'm now on the
cell phone arrangeing a tow for tomarrow morning. Vessle Assist shows up at 9am the next day and 4 hours later I am back in my slip at $0.00. That is the best damn
insurance I have ever bought.
Now here is my question, I have never removed this pump before. It looks pretty straight forward, just 4 bolts. Is there anything I need to watch for? I'm going to replace the thermostat and a new intercooler at the same time.
Thanks for reading and your answers.