PassageMaker - July 2018

22 passagemaker.com July/August 2018

Troubleshooter

And once you gain access, not only can
the small screws be difficult to remove but
they are also far too easy to drop in the
bilge. Speedseal (speedseal.com) offers an
aftermarket cover plate with larger knurled
fasteners to facilitate easy removal.
With the cover plate removed, the next
step is extracting the impeller. The fit can
be snug and the impeller difficult to re-
move. Prying out the impeller with a screw-
driver should be avoided as it will damage
the pump housing. Impeller removal tools
are available for purchase, and they work
much the way a corkscrew works to open
a wine bottle. If you do not have the cor-
rect tool on board, you should first spray
a lubricant into the housing and onto the
impeller. Then bump the starter once or
twice to force the impeller to rotate—the lu-
bricant will now be dispersed between the
impeller tips and the metal housing, mak-
ing removal easier. Grab the vanes with
a pair of pliers and pull straight out. On
higher horsepower engines—roughly 300

horsepower and higher—many of the im-

pellers have a threaded insert that allows

you to use a bolt or special tool to extract

the impeller from the housing.

Once the impeller has been removed,

you must decide on the next step. Now

that you have gone this far do you really

want to put the old impeller back in, even

if it looks fine? If it looks okay, the old one

might make a good spare. If limited ac-

cess or skills make replacement difficult,

replace it. If you are heading out on a long

or challenging passage, replace it.

If you want to try to reuse the impel-

ler, a close inspection should be the next

step. The impeller vanes will be bent over

Left: Deep wear grooves in this cover plate will

reduce pump eiciency. Opposite: This cam

should be replaced as the pitting will wear

away the impeller. Below: This impeller has

failed; the missing pieces of the vanes (lower

right) were blocking the heat exchanger.

RELIABLE

VOICE CALLS

SEASONAL

FLEXIBILITY

SIMPLE AND

EASY TO USE

FREE EMERGENCY

CALLING

STAY CONNECTED

UNRIVALLED CONNECTIVITY

AT SEA WITH FLEET ONE

Open your vessel to connectivity onboard, with Inmarsat’s affordable

Fleet One service. Providing global voice and regional data for

motorboats and sailing yachts. It’s now easier to get live weather updates,

keep in touch with family and friends and call back to shore in case of

emergency.

Fleet One the choice for smarter, cost effective connectivity at sea.

)RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQHPDLOpHHWRQH#LQPDUVDWFRP

Powering global connectivity

LQPDUVDWFRPpHHWRQH