J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Coulda, Woulda, Shouda

The final chapter in this story is that today I bought an entire pump. After fully rebuilding the old pump complete with bearings, seal, gasket and a backing plate the old pump would simply not prime itself. If I put a bucket of water above the engine and primed the inlet line it would pump like crazy and everything was good. Put the bucket down by the engine and nada it couldn't create enough suction to pull any water in.

After installing the new pump everything is good to go. The dealer was explaining that not only does the impeller need to be in good condition, so does the body itself. Once it gets worn beyond a certain point a new impeller is not enough. He also shared a piece of advice that I think could be really helpful to anyone doing a rebuild and that is to put a squirt of dishwashing soap in the pump before installing it. This can keep you from burning the new impeller up while starting the engine. He was also saying that these impellers should be replaced every two years, or less in some environments. Here on the river we have to remember that the water is carrying silt and that is going through the pump and silt is an abrasive, so our pump life may not be the same as the rest of you all.