Impellor housing on 3.0. Plastic tubes?

grodeestok

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Jul 24, 2014
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I have a 2000 3.0 GSMEFS Volvo Penta engine. I'm overheating after replacing the impellor. The old one was fine just doing regular preventive maintainence. After hooking up the ear muffs I see that I'm not really passing much water through the engine. Never really noticed in the past whether the plastic tubes that connect to the metal tube part of the housing are supposed to spin or not. I was wondering if I'm sucking in air and not getting the water flow I need and if so is there a fix other than replacing the whole housing? Thanks.
 

dypcdiver

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Nov 1, 2005
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1,016
The plastic tubes fitted to the Bronze pump are supposed to be sealed by an "O" ring however they can become hard and brittle if overheated. To eliminate the sucking of air a temporary fix can be made by wrapping the joint with self vulcanizing tape. To check for air entering the system attach a short length of clear plastic hose to the outlet side of the pump and run the engine and look for air bubbles. The other place that air can get into the pump is from the shaft seal which if leaking can cause the pump not to pull enough water. Generally if the seal has gone then the pump will leak whilst running and you will observe drips. If this has happened then remove the pump from the harmonic balancer and take it apart and replace the bearing and seal. Both available from auto stores at 1/3 the VP price.
 

grodeestok

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Jul 24, 2014
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Thanks dypcdiver for your input. I'll run the check and post what I find out. Any tips on replacing those O rings if that's the culprit?
 

grodeestok

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Jul 24, 2014
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So I took off the impeller housing to reinspect it and noticed that the inside of the plastic tubes was bubbled and distorted restricting water flow. Certainly from overheating at some point. I'm sure the O rings were compromised in the overheat. Now the question is can it be rebuilt or is it better to replace. Haven't seen those tubes offered anywhere I've looked and the new housing runs around $400 ! Help.
 

dypcdiver

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Nov 1, 2005
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Bad luck, VP replaced the pumps with the plastic pipes with one that has all in one cast pipes, probably because of the problems you are having. I believe it is the same fit as the one you have, just used on later model engines. BTW the pumps were made for VP by Johnson Pumps. I have a PDF of the entire range PM me if you want a copy it is 64MB.
 

grodeestok

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Jul 24, 2014
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Thanks for the input dypcdiver. I found a guy on ebay who does rebuilds so I believe I'll go that route. Would rather have the all in one cast but the old one did last 13 years. He can also replace the plastic with brass.
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2012
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I had to replace my housing as well when the tubes are able to spin they suck in water and dont allow the pump to pull the water up from the drive. I ordered this from here at iboats . The new part was all brass ILO the crappy original design that incorporated plastic tubes and a brass body. My engine is a 2000 3.0GSPEFS. $144 was not too bad in my mind for a new part I dont have to worry about replacing again.
 

grodeestok

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Jul 24, 2014
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I was only going to replace the housing but thought with the age of the boat might as well take care of the bearing and seal while I was in there. The seller on ebay has a permanent store with rebuilt pumps as well as a rebuild service and new product with the best prices I could find. I got a brand new VP pump with cast brass impeller housing for $280 including free shipping. Here's a link to his store if anyone needs it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-Penta...131003132420&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=171384612644&rt=nc
 
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