stranded...thought starter went, turns out to be a stuck pump

[Weebs74]

I was out in the water this weekend...in Hawaii, about 5 miles from the ramp when I decided to fire up the engines and head home. Sun was fading and the day was over...kids were spent. Fired up the starboard engine and then tried to start the port. Just a loud click from the solenoid. Started to panic a little as my kids just kept chanting that we needed to call the coast guard (over and over about 100 times). I then had to reposition the boat to check any wiring, pump obstruction, and the like. After moving the boat 50 yards I was then able to start the other motor. Ran great all the way back. Got louder near the dock...then started to cavitate. Never had any cavitation issues in the past. Cleaning the engines later, sounded like a real clatter. Started to think that the pump was swollen and that had caused my lock up. I pulled both the pumps the next day and inspected everything.

Pump housings looked perfect. Liners intact, no swelling at all. with the pump vertical and spinning the bearings, clearance looks great with no leading edge impeller wear. When I put the pump back in the boat and the shaft/impeller assembly is now horizontal, there is distinct contact of the impeller to the wall of the wear ring/housing. Must be the effect of bearing wear allowing a small amount of impeller deflection and allowing it to bind.

Pulled the grease cones as well and there was a concerning amount of water in the bearing. I ordered rebuild kit from SBT and will have the bearing put on later this week. I was very interested to see how good everything looked and was surprised by the bearings being the culprit when I was about to pull a starter. Had I drug the boat over to the dealer, I'm sure I would have paid for a ton more parts.

How to trouble shoot a frozen pump from inside the boat. Is there a way to manually spin the crank if I were to get stuck like this again. I've read so much on this site from Bruce, Murf'n Turf, Marvin and many others. I tackled this job like I knew what I was doing...in about 3 hours...and that included cleaning up corrosion and fixing some silicone deficiencies. I could never have approached this with any confidence without in the input of so many of you. Thanks for all the help and advice!!! BTW, what thread sealer should I use to put the pumps back together????

This boat is a 2007 AR230 that has been in salt water for all 10 years. I get a lot of compliments out here for what is still a very nice boat.

 

[Julian]

Not sure it is possible to diagnose a pump jamb o some sort from inside the boat unless it is something you can feel from the ports, like a bit of wood. You took the correct steps.

I'm on my phone or I'd look up the gasket maker specs for the pump....but I'll tell ya....most dealers don't apply it!