Raw water pump failure on Westerbeke 70

[Pirateking]

Depco sounds great. I bought a new pump for a 3 cylinder 7.9kw Westerbeke this Wed, it was $750 retail, but the mechanic discount brought it down to where the 750 water pump and the 250 fuel pump were 750 together. Wish I had known about rebuild. Will send removed one for rebuild.


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[Scrimshaw4]

Westerbeke has a habit of making changes to the base of their pumps. While a Johnson or Depco pump may look identical, Westerbeke modifies the base to fit the attachment bracket. Without the base modifications, usually width and foot angle, the pumps will either not seat properly or not align to the the belt drive or both.

[Calypso52]

Here's the end of the saga:

Depco called. The old pump is toast. A rebuild would cost within a few bucks of new. "The bearings just fell apart." He said once the bearings are exposed to salt water it is a short period of time before a complete failure. If I had sent it in the moment I noticed leaking, seals could have been replaced for a couple hundred. But since that is not always possible, it appears that if one is to be in a situation where the pump cannot be removed and rebuilt (offshore passage) carrying a spare new pump may be prudent. He did say that 1,400 hours is a long time for a pump like that. So I guess I am lucky I made it home and I got those hours from the pump. He is going to paint it all up Westerbeke red and send it to me tomorrow.

[jannw]

Cough! - ******** - cough!

Bearings and seals are standard sized parts ... you can buy them over the internet from any bearing and seal supplier if you can use a set of calipers. You'll get all of them delivered overnight with change from a $50.

If the shaft is toast at the water seal that's another matter ... but you can renew it with a speedi-sleeve. Google it if you're interested.

Seals and bearings falling is not a reason to junk the pump.

That said, having a spare is not a bad idea!

If you've already paid the guy for the new pump make sure you get the old one back, and spend the $50 and couple of hours yourself so you have a spare.

[Calypso52]

Roger that, I am getting the old one back and I'll price out the parts for a rebuild.

[Calypso52]

FWIW, this is the wreakage returned to me by Depco, along with the new pump. IMO, not worth my time to figure out how to rebuild this. Perhaps for someone who has done it several times.

Very lucky it did not fail completely on us before the end of the season.

[a64pilot]

You can fix anything I guess, But it looks like you may have gotten all the good out of that pump

[Pirateking]

I was wrong on Westerbeke pricing on a new water pump">Raw water pump. Jas Marine in Florida charged me $760 for the pump in the box, and that was after a 15% "mechanic" discount. I have not called depco, but is that what these darn things cost?

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Pirateking

I was wrong on Westerbeke pricing on a new Raw water pump. Jas Marine in Florida charged me $760 for the pump in the box, and that was after a 15% "mechanic" discount. I have not called depco, but is that what these darn things cost?

Closer to $850(!) for my W82B, but definitely call Depco.

[Neilhoh]

Originally Posted by Exile

I'm pretty sure I understand this Jim, especially after reading Maine Sail's excellent step-by-step with pics. But thanks for the helpful explanation which helps to clarify further. In my case, I'm pretty sure the r/w is making it out past the cover plate and not the weep hole, but I'll double-check now that you've mentioned it.

Btw, MS suggests that if you're going through the trouble of removing the shaft you might as well also replace the bearings along with the seals. Do you agree, or you have been able to get along OK just replacing seals? The rebuild kit shown in MS's tutorial includes all new components except the pump body.

I am going through this now. To be sure about where the water was coming from on a Volvo P 2040D I tied strips of rag around the top hose connection, bottom hose connect, around the centre of the pump in between the in and out hoses. Ran the engine for a couple of minutes. The wettest rag showed where the leak was. It was from the rear of the pump, the bottom rag wasnt even wet.

The local mech from whom I ordered the kit has even volunteered to press on and off, out and in whatever I need if I have trouble. Would like to give him a wrap here but commercial promos are probably not on. fantastic though and the price for the kit seems reasonable compared to new. $160ish v $600+. The kit includes all bearings, seals and a shaft.
I like the idea of a spare though.