Trim pump leak

D

Derekc294

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
152
Don S said:
Re: Leaky Tilt/Trim Reservoir on '87 Alpha One Mercruiser

Which pump do you have, A,B or C?

View attachment 198569
Click to expand...

I have pump C and cannot for the life of me figure out where I have a leak at. If I was to remove each line can I put thread sealant on each one and screw them back in? Is there a direct replacement pump I can purchase? Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Bondo

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,513
Ayuh,... Yer hoses attach with inverted flares,... Thread sealant will do No good,....

You could buy 1 of the new replacement pumps like sold here at iboats, 'n just update what you've got,...
 
ziggy

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
i had a leak on mine, same pump as ya got. it was a bear to find. but there's a valve body or manifold on the bottom of the reservoir. where the lines screw in at.
there are o rings under this manifold (valve body). that's where i found my leak at. i had to wipe it dry then let it leak. i had to take a pic of it to see it as i couldn't get my eyes to see that area of my boat.

ya can see in my pic the oil on one of the bolts. i tried tightening them to no avail to stop the leak. replacing the o rings under the valve body stopped the leak. i don't think i even took the lines loose to R&R the o rings. just took the bolts out and dropped the manifold down a little to R&R them o rings. i think there were 4? maybe.
your leak may not be there, but it's some place to look for that isn't visable as to a place that it might leak at.
other than that. wipe it clean, then start observing. leaks never run up hill, so go to the highest place that ya see the leak then inspect that area good for a possible place for it to be leaking at.

good luck.
 
achris

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
I've seen a lot of blown 'O' rings in that place, and yes, 4 under that manifold. Now, if memory serves me, they are 010. Don't buy them from Merc, take one down to your local 'O' ring shop. Ask for Viton. It's a little dearer, but will last forever... I use Viton 'O' rings in my scuba tank valves. With Nitrile (normal 'O' ring material) I was doing 2 a season, with Viton I get about 3 seasons out of them....

Chris..........
 
D

Derekc294

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
152
Thanks for the info guys! Going to look into updating the pump. I dont want to deal with getting stranded and not being able to bring the motor up somewhere!
 
ziggy

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
jmho, but it looks like yer gonna spend a min. of around $200+ . unless it's an exact replacement, then yer gonna have to fig. how to mount it. yer gonna undo all lines (every one a possible place to leak after repair) at the pump, maybe have to fig. out how to re plumb it for the up grade. etc. to me this sounds like a lot of effort.
if all ya got is a leak. i'd go find it. if it's them orings me and achris were talkin about, they might a cost me $10 on the outside, i can't remember, but cheap. i don't think it took me an hour to replace them and i'd never done that before. a ten dollar repair that's lasted years. and no leaks. the longest part of that project was finding the leak. once found, then ya can make the assessment as to the best possible repair. i personally just find it easiest to keep repairs as close to what it was to start with. the way the factory set it up.
I dont want to deal with getting stranded and not being able to bring the motor up somewhere!
Click to expand...
if that ever happens. undo one nut on the aft pin of the trim rams. pull that pin and the dive is no longer connected. ya can lift it up with your hands and tie it up with a line to get you through the temp. emergency.

good luck with your project.
 
D

Derekc294

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
152
ziggy said:
jmho, but it looks like yer gonna spend a min. of around $200+ . unless it's an exact replacement, then yer gonna have to fig. how to mount it. yer gonna undo all lines (every one a possible place to leak after repair) at the pump, maybe have to fig. out how to re plumb it for the up grade. etc. to me this sounds like a lot of effort.
if all ya got is a leak. i'd go find it. if it's them orings me and achris were talkin about, they might a cost me $10 on the outside, i can't remember, but cheap. i don't think it took me an hour to replace them and i'd never done that before. a ten dollar repair that's lasted years. and no leaks. the longest part of that project was finding the leak. once found, then ya can make the assessment as to the best possible repair. i personally just find it easiest to keep repairs as close to what it was to start with. the way the factory set it up.
if that ever happens. undo one nut on the aft pin of the trim rams. pull that pin and the dive is no longer connected. ya can lift it up with your hands and tie it up with a line to get you through the temp. emergency.

good luck with your project.
Click to expand...
I agree! I need to do some recon on that pump and see where the leak is. I was hoping for an easy replacement but after seeing the cost I dont think thats possible. Only way to do it to keep the cost down is to just basically reseal it all. I can get the O-rings and just reseal them all.
 
D

Derekc294

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
152
So I have the pump off and cant for the life of me figure out where its leaking from. Any recommendations on how to look for where it could be leaking? the pump #45060A1 which was replaced with #45060A7. If there is a full gasket kit to buy or rebuild kit I would just take it all apart and replace them all as a preventative maintenance. Any ideas please let me know!
The good thing about removing the pump is it forced me to finally rewire the whole boat. The previous owner used solid copper house wire and there was just a rats nest everywhere. So frustrating! Coming along nicely though.
 
D

Derekc294

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
152
If I am not able to locate the seal from the reservoir to the valve body can I just run a bead of gasket maker like would be used on valve covers in its place?
 
D

Derekc294

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
152
achris said:
No.
Click to expand...
Ok, any suggestions if its a seal thats no longer made? I also looked at the pump closely and cant for the life of me see where it could be leaking from. Is there any way to see where the leak may be coming from? I was thinking of filling the reservoir while I have it out and trying to cap the 4 holes where the lines attach and looking at it out of the boat. The only time it leaks is when it sits not when I am using the pump. Any chance it could be building up pressure from sitting in the up or down position and its forcing the fluid out of the vent cap?
 
Bondo

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,513
Derekc294 said:
Ok, any suggestions if its a seal thats no longer made? I also looked at the pump closely and cant for the life of me see where it could be leaking from. Is there any way to see where the leak may be coming from? I was thinking of filling the reservoir while I have it out and trying to cap the 4 holes where the lines attach and looking at it out of the boat. The only time it leaks is when it sits not when I am using the pump. Any chance it could be building up pressure from sitting in the up or down position and its forcing the fluid out of the vent cap?
Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... There's only 2 lines, Up, 'n Down,.....

If ya got 4 holes, ya found a leak,....

Have ya tried Mercruiser for the o-rings ya need,..??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top