Jabsco 5320-0011 Raw Water pump Westerbeke W50

[felizcortez]

I have a Westerbeke W50 and I noticed some salt below the Jabsco water pump">raw water pump. It looks like it is leaking from the weep hole in the pump. I'm trying to figure out whether to rebuild the pump or buy a new one. I looked and there are two rebuild kits available, one that is a minor rebuild - only has a single lip seal and a major rebuild which seems to include everything except the shaft.

Is it worth it to rebuild this pump? Should I just buy a new one ~600 bucks? Any other thoughts or things to look for?

[tkeithlu]

Hmmmm. Here's where you make a bet and hope you are right. You've got a bad seal. It's leaking water around the shaft. The simplist approach is to replace the seal and go sailing. Small investment, pretty good chance that's it. Assuming you have the time, don't even buy the kit - buy the right size seal. They get called oil seals even when they are sealing water. BTW - If you don't already own a cheap vernier caliper for measuring these things, it's time to stop by Harbor Freight and get one.

https://www.mcmaster.com/oil-seals/

But... you may find that the seal got unsealed because there was sand in the water and the back and front of the pump is pretty scored. Replace the sanded-down impeller (this you do have to source from Jabsco) and hope that a little leaking within the pump won't compromise its ability to cool your engine.

[felizcortez]

The leak is very slow currently, but those things only get worse. I have a spare pump on board from the PO, but I'm not sure of it's state of whether it's been rebuilt etc. I can swap it out to test it then repair the other pump at my leisure assuming the spare is good. I'm also in Mexico full time cruising so getting parts can be a bit of an issue

I can try replacing just the lip seal that doesn't seem too bad. Do I need to get anything special for the spring material? One of the options was for a seal in use in Water so I'm assuming that's the one I'd go with.

[tkeithlu]

Sounds like you certainly can keep cruising. A leak like that doesn't hurt your cooling. I did over 1,000 miles with a raw water pump that required me to empty a garbage can of water every half hour. Now that was a leaky pump.

[jamhass]

Depending where you are in Mexico, getting pumps repaired is both easy and inexpensive. I know are great mechanics as well as a very good pump repair shop in La Paz, and had no trouble with pump parts in PV.

If the shaft is scored, there are shaft repair sleeves available.

As an aside, It's always a very good idea to have a good ready-to-go pump in the spares kit.

[Tupaia]

Energised lip seals work best and last the longest. The energising ring that encompasses the lip can be steel, bad, SS better, bronze better still, rubber the best of all.

The weep hole is designed to warn you of impending failure, not immediate failure and a leaking pump will continue to work for a considerable time, but will eventually lead to bearing failure and is not good for the surrounding area.

The seals and bearings are readily available from industrial suppliers and easy to replace. There is nothing special about the ones in the repair kits.

Pumps can be rebuilt many times over.

Wear plates can be turned over or the face flattened using an oil stone. Even a worn shaft can be made to work by using a thinner seal so the wear point is in a different place.
Seals tend to fail after periods of non use, so it is worth keeping a supply on board together with a spare impeller.