Hi all - I am very much a newb when it comes to working on boat engines and suspect my boat needs some serious maintenance.
I have a 2006 4Winns 190 with Volvo Penta 4.3 GL-E, 3869305 - 4012188143 - 182 hrs on it, all on a single fresh water lake.
Other than winterization and oil changes, really have not had any work done on it. The last 2 years, I winterized it myself. I did have to replace the starter 5 years ago. That was my first foray into working on boat engines.
Last fall, it just stopped starting totally. No clicking or anything. Recharged the battery, but did not help. End of season, so I just took it out of water and winterized it. Today, I finally did the simple thing and replaced the battery. Started up on 2nd try. All happy and ready to take it to the lake, and I realized that it was spitting on me. The belts were throwing off drops of water - about 1 drop a second. On investigation, it looks like the water is dripping out of the bottom pulley (2-3 drops a second). The pulley also has a very slight, but visible wobble.
After reading some forums here, I think this is the water pump. And that it is a $300-$400 part or I need to get a certain, possibly mysterious bearing, and a bearing press and I don't know what else.
So, my questions are: does this need to be addressed immediately? Or can I just keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse? And assuming I can get the right tools, can I possibly fix it myself? Or should I just get out the wallet and pay a pro?
I have a 2006 4Winns 190 with Volvo Penta 4.3 GL-E, 3869305 - 4012188143 - 182 hrs on it, all on a single fresh water lake.
Other than winterization and oil changes, really have not had any work done on it. The last 2 years, I winterized it myself. I did have to replace the starter 5 years ago. That was my first foray into working on boat engines.
Last fall, it just stopped starting totally. No clicking or anything. Recharged the battery, but did not help. End of season, so I just took it out of water and winterized it. Today, I finally did the simple thing and replaced the battery. Started up on 2nd try. All happy and ready to take it to the lake, and I realized that it was spitting on me. The belts were throwing off drops of water - about 1 drop a second. On investigation, it looks like the water is dripping out of the bottom pulley (2-3 drops a second). The pulley also has a very slight, but visible wobble.
After reading some forums here, I think this is the water pump. And that it is a $300-$400 part or I need to get a certain, possibly mysterious bearing, and a bearing press and I don't know what else.
So, my questions are: does this need to be addressed immediately? Or can I just keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse? And assuming I can get the right tools, can I possibly fix it myself? Or should I just get out the wallet and pay a pro?
