Leaking Jabsco 36950 Water Pump

[Capt.Don]

Hi, I have a 10 year old Jabsco 36950-2 Electric Water System Pump that is leaking from the bottom plate. I tightened the 4 bottom screws and this decreased the flow of water, though the pump still leaks. Any suggestions on what may be leaking -or- is it time to service the pump.

The Jabsco 43990-0061 service kit includes the diaphragm, valve set, and pulsation dampeners. Is this what I need?
Thanks,
Don

[colemj]

Most likely a tear in the diaphram - easy to fix and the service kit should take care of it.

Mark

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Capt.Don

...The Jabsco 43990-0061 service kit includes the diaphragm, valve set, and pulsation dampeners. Is this what I need?
Thanks,
Don

Yes. We just went through this exercise with the same pump and the same leakage problem. The difficulty did prove to be the Pulse Damper, a kind of mattress looking rubber pad that forms the bottom of the pump chambers under the base plate. These and the other rubber parts do wear-out, particularly if you have and chlorine in your fresh water (you will find the inside of the pump covered with a black somewhat sticky coating--oxidized rubber).

We found that the parts we needed were the least costly at DepCo Pump.

FWIW...

[Capt.Don]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

... did prove to be the Pulse Damper, a kind of mattress looking rubber pad that forms the bottom of the pump chambers under the base plate...
FWIW...

Thanks - since it is leaking from the bottom, that's what I was thinking too. I haven't taken apart (yet), but from the diagram, the pulse dampener appears to form a gasket or seal at the bottom of the pump.

Probably best to rebuild and replace all the internal rubber parts with the service kit. Thanks for lead on parts,
Don

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Capt.Don

Thanks - since it is leaking from the bottom, that's what I was thinking too. I haven't taken apart (yet), but from the diagram, the pulse dampener appears to form a gasket or seal at the bottom of the pump.

Probably best to rebuild and replace all the internal rubber parts with the service kit. Thanks for lead on parts,
Don

Don--

I just realized you're in SoCal. With the shipping I don't know whether there will be much of a savings with DepCo, which is in the Tampa Bay area, maybe...

A couple of tips from the techs at DepCo although you may already be aware. Once you've cleaned the pump, the new rubber parts are installed dry--i.e. without any gasket material. The bolts/screws should be snug, not overly tight, as you want some give in the gasket edges. When you reinstall the Pulse Damper, start with the screws at the center of the coverplate and work outward in a star pattern toward either end (like one does with wheel lugs) to help keep the Damper edges flat. It is also wise to replace the toothed drive belt while you've got the thing apart although you can save the old as a temporary spare.

I also found that changing from a 40 psi to 20 psi pressure switch eliminated switch failures and some of the leakage issues in the FW system without an appreciable difference in the water supply at the fixtures. (Since doing so, I've had no switch failures and my old spare higher pressure switches have come in handy for helping other's that insist on the higher pressure for whatever reason.)

FWIW...

[Capt.Don]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

I just realized you're in SoCal.....
FWIW...

Yes, but shipping is usually less than our 9.75% sales tax!