Capt. JG wrote:
I'm going to be hauling soon, and even though I have realitively easy access
to the raw water pump/impeller, I'm thinking of replacing the cover with a
Speedseal. It seems quite simple to do it, and then I'd be able to deal with
a problem without fumbling for a tool. The impeller is due to get changed
anyway, so while I'm there... for reference,
http://www.speedseal.com/speedseal.html.
Has someone used this product? What do you think?
I've put them on my 2GM20FC's and have been pleased, although I haven't
been able to do (or needed) an "in situ" repair. On the 2GM20F series
the water pump is mounted "backwards," so the cover plate faces the
engine making it totally impossible to remove the screws in place. I
thought the SpeedSeal would make it possible, but even if I could get
the plate off, removing the rotor would still be an issue. Once you've
done it a few times, its really pretty to easy to just pull the whole
thing out. Even so, the SpeedSeal with its o-ring is easier to deal
with than fumbling with 6 tiny screws (which always becomes 5) and a
paper gasket.
The pumps get removed and opened each Fall, and a new rotor goes in (if
there is any wear) in the Spring. As long as I don't remember the cost,
I'm happy I got the SpeedSeal. As it turns out, I've only had one
underway failure, and that was with a new rotor (50 hours?) where the
hub separated from the vanes. With twin engines, problems like this are
not much of an issue in open water.