me worry ? raw water pump leaking

[arch007]

My kubota beta 14 water pump">raw water pump leaks a few drops when i shut down the motor.

Do i need to worry about this ?

How hard is it to pull the pump and replace the seals ?

Thanks,

Arch

[Wotname]

Worry, not sure; but fix it - yes! It will only get worse.
Not a difficult job, plenty of advice on CF and elsewhere if you aren't sure how to do the job.

[model 10]

One thing about seals like this, there is probably not going to be a catastrophic failure anytime soon. However drip by drip it gets worse until some night at 2am it blows out near a reef. From a delayed maintenance point of view while out cruising, you fix it the next time you can get parts.

[shufti]

Not sure about kubota water pumps - but if they are anything g like the Johnson pumps on my volvos, rebuilding the pump is dead simple. Waaaaaay more simple than ignoring g the problem and having to deal with the aftermath if the seals fail and let water into the oil. Trust me on this.

[Sailmonkey]

Fix it! It's dead simple to take apart, is most likely a Johnson pump, and the salt water drip will destroy everything it lands on given enough time.

[MarkSF]

My approach has been to buy a spare pump, install it, then rebuild the other one, and so on, so I always have a spare rebuilt pump.

Had cruising plans wrecked once when the raw water pump started leaking, never again.

The spare pump has the right tail pipe fittings pre-installed for a quicker swap.

[arch007]

Thanks.

It is a johnson pump same as for volvo md7a

Can anyone point me to instructions for rebuilding ?

Arch

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Fix it! It's dead simple to take apart, is most likely a Johnson pump, and the salt water drip will destroy everything it lands on given enough time.

Even worse, might get into the engine oil if the rear seal is leaky too.

[jamhass]

Originally Posted by arch007

Thanks.

It is a johnson pump same as for volvo md7a

Can anyone point me to instructions for rebuilding ?

Arch

Google it. Lots of videos. Or, get someone to walk you through it. A good skill to acquire.

[dfelsent]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

Even worse, might get into the engine oil if the rear seal is leaky too.

Been there done that. The raw water seal failed and drove salt water into the engine past the second seal. There is a weep hole to prevent this but it didn't work. The oil was white froth. Not good at all. Six oil changes and a rebuilt pump later the engine oil analysis showed no sodium. Phew. This was a Johnson pump on a Westerbeke.

Fix or replace the pump now. It's not hard. That's my advice.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by arch007

Thanks.
It is a johnson pump same as for volvo md7a
Can anyone point me to instructions for rebuilding ?
Arch

➥ Rebuilding A Raw Water Pump Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

[bajatrawler]

If the seals are dripping, it definitely indicates a problem. In addition to what has already been suggested, you might want to check the pump impeller and exhaust elbow. Missing impeller blades, even if the current impeller is intact, can become lodged downstream, causing a back pressure. As well, a partially blocked exhaust elbow will do the same. The consequence of this back pressure is often leaking pump seals. Don't ask me how I know!

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by arch007

Thanks.

It is a johnson pump same as for volvo md7a

Can anyone point me to instructions for rebuilding ?

Arch

Example:

Oberdorfer Pump Rebuild 101 - Mysteries of the Oberdorfer - Seal Replacement - REBUILDING A PUMP w/Flix

Maine Sail has a Johnson rebuild tutorial on his website. You should bookmark his site.

[Siberian Sea]

If it's leaking that means the seal is out and this brings out questions like..... Is the seal out because the bearing has failed and this has allowed the pump shaft to move taking out the seal? Or has the seal just worn out and perhaps the water now leaks past seal and also flows through the pump shaft bearing and will cause the bearing to fail? Or has the pumps shaft worn at the seal and now it leaks?. You can only know this from removing and inspecting the pump. Do this ASAP before you have a complete failing of your pump and the result might be an overheated engine or long towe back to port.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Siberian Sea

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Do this ASAP before you have a complete failing of your pump and the result might be an overheated engine or long towe back to port.

Good advice. The biggest issue with leaking seals is they could let water into the engine oil, which is far, far worse than :just" overheating *(which can be solved by turning the engine off).