Hi guys, did a post on raw water impeller

[Seattle Scott]

on the all sailers forum, but I guess my issue was unique to the 37C with a Yanmar 4JHE. I couldn't get to the raw water pump impeller on this engine without taking the alternator off and then the impeller housing face plate is facing to the back of the engine and I am in the front so I have to work at it blind. I had no access from the port side of the engine. The alternator is right up to quarter berth wall as well as the pump behind it. The the quarter berth access door opens to the transmission and to is to far aft to get to the back of the pump and the impeller. Jeeze, it was a bear to change out and I didn't need to, because once removed I found the impeller in great shape. Turns out it was mixing elbow blocked. Don't most engines have the impeller cover right at the front of the engine so easy to inspect?

 

[Ed]

I will try again. second effort posting

This is a problem that is serious with the 4cyl engines in the 37c. so what i did was to cut out the wall and open the entire side of the engine room. I then used the cutout to make a cover for the hole. I put fiddles on the top and it locks in tight and fiddles at the back where it meets the original opening. This makes access to the entire side of the engine possible.worked out great!

 

[Seattle Scott]

Ed and Val

Ed am going to scope out cutting a side access. I just wonder how much stuff is mounted on the wall already. Seem like any flat surface in an engine compartment as something mounted on it. Val, I ran the engine slow for the most part for about 100 hours ( never in a hurry and kept the noise down) until I found out not the best method of operation. Now we run around 2800 to get out to the wind and for a few minutes after the sails are down heading back.

 

[Seattle Scott]

Nice views Chet

Did your engine belt really come painted red?

 

[Ed]

dont have a picture but ill take some this weekend

The pictures chet posted are what i did. cant believe someone copied me!The cutout can be used for a cover. Ill try to get some pictures this weekend.

 

[Seattle Scott]

Chet your nipple isn' t red

as in the mixing elbow nipple. As as aside I just paid $26.00 for that little part.this was meant in good taste

 

[CHET P]

OH THAT

IT DIDN'T COME WITH THE ENGINE, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE THAT DID WAS PAINTED....THE CABLES, THE BELTS,EVEN THE HOSES......I ADDED THE NIPPLE RING AFTER HOOKING THE HOSE TO IT...OR WAS THAT A HOSE CLAMP.......BAD

 

[Seattle Scott]

Chet, run me through your repower

decision making process, you know, rebuild, straight swap, different brand, more h.p, that sort of thing.

 

[CHET P]

email me direct

direct contact is 1keladi@msn.com as i am sure not everyone here wants the long drawn out play by play...hardest part was making the decision to do it my self...easy part was knowing i was going to save $2000-4000 if i did and in the end i would know everything about what is in there. oh yea one other thing....red is my color chet

 

[Seattle Scott]

Come on Chet, all us old 37C guys

want to know. Repower is an ugly ($$$) word, while maybe it is still over the horizon, it is closing in on all of us.

 

[Steve Chamberlain]

Water pumps

I have just finished the repairs to my westerbeke genset onboard "Flight Deck" my 45 legend. the westerbeke will probably be coming out in a few years to be replaced with a yanmar like the main engine. An interseting point was found when I started the repair of the impeller. The old bearings on the shaft were cracked from the shaft being to large a diameter. This in turned caused the bearings to hang up and of course killed the pump... I was able to remove the bits and pieces and polish the old shaft. Ordered aseal and bearing kit from Torrensen.com (great website and good folks working there) as well as a few other bits of usefull stuff. The new bearings when I went to install them wouldn't fit the shaft. I had to turn down the shaft for snug press fit and used locktite to fix them in place. I also discovered that the small circlip that is designed to keep the shaft from coming out of the pump was on the wrong end. Seems that Westerbeke has a lot of parts out there that are not meant for the pump (or engine?) that they say they are. ( anyone with a parts catalogue will know the troubles with identifying parts) Anyhow, I machined a groove in the shaft for the snap ring prior to instaling the shaft in the housing, fitted the snap ring and then the garlock seal and fitted the pump. a but of a prime and Presto! the sweet sound of electricity once again. Anyone wishing to have more info etc can get a hold of me at legend_aircraft@hotmail.com.One other thing. Oberdorfer pumps makes a lot of the parts for the westerbeke pumps. I talked with one of their reps on a different problem and found out this tidbit. If ya can't get the part from Westerbeke, try Oberdorfer. www.oberdorferpumps.com

 

[Seattle Scott]

Chet I don't know what came over me

but I painted the exhaust flange and elbow red refore bolting it back on. No Joke. Anyway, everything is fine and now I see that what I used to think was a lot of water dumping out with the exhaust, was really about 1/2 of the pump volume, which has about doubled with the new elbow. Never had any problems before the old elbow just blocked up one day warming the engine at the dock. On another issue, the elbow top is only a few inches above the top of the engine. The raw water has a tall loop almost up to cockpit floor before dropping down into the elbow. Shouldn't the elbow be as high as possible to minimize risk of sea water coming in through exhaust hose? there is a connector pipe between the exhaust flange and the elbow but it is only 1-2 inches long. If It was 8 inches long exhast hose would attach to engine 8 inches higher than the water line than it does now. Any thoughts?

 

[Seattle Scott]

Chet so the height of the elbow

is adequate to prevent raw water going up stream into the engine without any physical one way valves and the like? On the raw water intake I have the anti syphen (sp) valve at the top of the intake loop, just wondering about water coming in from the exhaust outlet at the stern. Is there a one way vavle or gate in the muffler?

 

[nick maggio]

Chet P

I saw the new yanmar engines at a boat and they have the impeller cover facing away from the engine and it can be changed real easy and yes they say to run a diesel at high rpm's every time you go sailing it helps keep the elbo clean and doesn't hurt the engine they like to be run hard.I take my mixing elbo apart every year and clean it out with a ice pick type of tool,hows everything in port charlotte I'll be closeing on my house the end of march but have to rent for a year until I retire. nick