Water Pump Weep Hole Leak? And Overheat?

[Dave]

Gorden,As you know I've got a Universal 5411. Well, wwwater has started to drip out of the weep hole on the bottom of the pump. I read your response to Tim Dranttel about water leak indicating bad seals. Is this also true in my case? Are these seals that I can replace myself? Or do I need to remove the pump and send it in? Also, the last time I took her out, the engine overheated quickly. I noticed it wasn't pumping ANY water. I shut it down, let it set for 20 minutes then restarted and it immediatly started pumping water and the temp dropped like a rock. I've run it in the slip for over two hours in gear at 3/4 to WOT and it din't overheat again. Any thoughts?Thanks againDave

 

[Gordon Torresen]

Pump leak and overheat

The drip from the weep hole on your pump can be stopped by replacing the seal. As to your ability to do the repair, I have no idea. You must remove the pump from the engine, remove its cover, impeller and shaft. You then work out the oil seal and underneath it, the water seal. Note their orientation before removal - they go back to back or one up and one down and must be installed in the proper orientation. They will both be destroyed during removal. You should take care not to scar the bore into which the seals fit. You then press the water seal to the bottom of the bore and the oil seal flush with the top. Put the rest of the stuff back in and install it on the engine. If the shaft is badly scarred, you may want to replace it. You will also need base and cover gaskets and possibly an impeller. Good luck. As to the overheat, your description is consistent with a piece of plastic over the sea water pick up through hull. You shut the engine down, removing the sucking force, and the obstruction floats away, looking for the next unsuspecting boater to suck it up.