Water pump rebuild, leg full of sand

Hello, I'm replacing the water pump in my '88 Johnson 110 V4. I pulled the lower unit off and the cavities in the leg were packed with sand. How does it get in there?<br /><br />I purchased a water pump kit that includes a new impeller, housing, gaskets, o-rings etc. I believe I have everything but one seal, I'm not sure. On the top side of the pump housing where the drive shaft goes through, is there supposed to be a seal pressed in there? I don't have one and the old pump didn't either. The shaft is a little scuffed up in this area and the old housing was scraped up pretty good by the shaft I assume. My Clymer manual mentions a seal installed in the housing but the verbage is confusing. I'm thinking the last guy who replaced the pump forgot the seal, if there is one. Could this be a place for water and sand to escape the pump and fill the leg? (I run on a shallow sandy river and sucking in sand is unavoidable.)<br /><br />Sorry I couldn't post pictures, my ISPs personal pages are not working this weekend. Thanks for reading!

Re: Water pump rebuild, leg full of sand

No pressed in seals.There is a rubber cap that fits on the very top of the pump housing where the driveshaft exits.Sand gets in the entire cooling system from running in shallows where the pump pickup sucks it in or running in sand born water.Flush system thoroughly on muffs after each boating trip and you can greatly reduce the buildup.I highly recommend installing new T/stats when replacing waterpump.Also inspect the condition of the inner exhaust housing seals or replace with new.