Bilge blower replacement

C

Captain Jimbo

Member
May 10, 2012
94
Seattle
Boat Info
1997 Sundancer 250
Engines
Mercruiser 5.7L Bravo
My 1997 Sundancer 250 has a dead bilge blower . Where exactly is the blower and how easy is it to replace ? I assume I can get a new blower at West Marine or an auto parts store ?
Any advice would be appreciated !
 
Down in the engine compartment. Normally near the transom and could be on either side. My bilge blower is mounted on the port side.

Make sure urge you know the correct size of your hose for bilge blower. 3 or 4 inch. West Marine will be able to help. Remove your old bilge blower and take it with you.
 
Have you checked the fuse? Have you checked the switch (jump it)?

Look at the big, black, plastic hoses near the transom - they connect to the outside blower vents. Inline in one of those hoses (SHOULD be one that goes to the bottom of the bilge) will be the blower. All you will see is about a 3" strip of white plastic as the two hose ends are zip tied onto the blower. Most likely, the blower is held down with two screws.Of course, this is all assuming that everything is still pretty much OEM.

Any marine store, or online, will carry them. All in all, this is a very easy replacement and you should be able to find the blower by just looking. If you're going to start doing some DIY, I would also suggest taking a little time to familiarize yourself with what is down in the bilge and where things are located.
 
Very easy job. West Marine carries both the 3" and 4" blowers. You need 2 butt joint connectors, preferably with heat shrink adhesive inside to form a water tight seal. Just unscrew the two screws holding the fan to bulkhead, cut the wires, remove blower hoses. Screw new fan in, connect wires with butt connectors, heat shrink, and replace blower hoses with zip ties. Done. Mine took about 20min.
 
Thanks , I knew it was in the bilge , just wasn't sure where.
I'll check the hose size and take the old one to West Marine .
 
You make it sound easy...I'm going to try soon ! The electrical part should be interesting ...thanks !
 
Yes I checked the fuse and the switch , neither was the problem.
I will check the black hoses and find the blower and replace . I spend a fair amount of time down in the bilge working on the engine and replacing batteries, etc., but never looked for the blower before...I will familiarize myself with things now . Thanks !
 
It's easier than you're thinking. But I can understand that if you haven't done this kind of work before, it may be a little daunting at first. Take your time and you'll be fine.

A few other words of caution... You're working in a gas bilge so you want to be extra cautious when using anything that causes a spark or has open flame (including a heat gun). Open the hatch and air things out for a while (if you didn't already know, gas fumes are heavier than air... which is the reason I mentioned, above, about the blower hose going to the bottom of the bilge). Then trust your nose - if you smell gas fumes before you start, take appropriate action. Also, as a good precaution, remove the negative leads on your batteries (be sure everything is already turned off) and cover the positive leads with something (although they should already have a protective cover) - this will prevent any accidental sparks while you're working.

Do you have a good crimp tool? I don't mean the one that typically comes in the set with a bunch of electrical connectors - they're crap. If you don't, this is perfect excuse to go buy a new tool! You can actually get a good quality, yet inexpensive, one at Home Depot. Go to the electrical aisle - look for one made by Klein Tools - it should be roughly $20/$25. It'll be the last crimper you'll ever need to buy.

Also, when you inspect the existing wires, they might be black. If they're not too bad, you can scrape the black off the strands with a razor blade. Rotate the strands so you get most of them. If they're really bad, you'll need to cut further back into the wire till you expose wire in better condition. DO NOT skimp on type of wire you use, if you have to add any (in most cases, you won't have to).
 
Ok, I looked for the bilge blower & am not sure which one it is...I didn't find any 3-4" unit ! I have a large aluminum or ss box just above the batteries on the port side that seems to be connected to the large black hoses . This box is connected to a smaller black box also on the port side that is labeled bilge blower but also has other labels for bilge pump I think with small reset buttons . I don't know where the blower is ...the larger box is about 8"x12" and has gauges on it . Help !
 
What do these gauges look like - what's printed on the faces? Battery charger?

So, your blower used to work, but now it doesn't? There could be a different style blower in there, but if you're not the original owner, all bets are off as to what has been done over the years. BUT, assuming it actually has a blower, the only logical place to find it is inline with the 3" or 4" plastic hoses. There's nowhere else it can be. If you can't figure it out, post a couple of pictures of your engine bay - from various angles. It's hard for me to see your engine bay from where I am... :smt001
 
I am the original owner and it is the original build blower… I'm going to try and find it again and if I can't I will post a pic.
 
Here's a copy of a 1998 250 goto page 11 your blower is part #1 it's a Turbot 4000 4" located behind your batteries. You should get your owners & parts manual from Sea Ray's owners resources, makes things a lot easier.

http://rnr-marine.com/images/Sea-Ray_250-Sundancer_1998_Parts-Manual.PDF

The aluminum box you described is your AC/Converter battery charger the black box is your main DC breaker box.

Added;

Goto page 21 breaker reset for bilge blower is #22

If your boat is stock from the factory.
 
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Success ! I found it inline with the black hoses way back behind the batteries and engine on the transom in a very hard to get to location...but I managed to maneuver in that cramped area and change out the blower ! Thanks everyone for your suggestions ! Things are hard to access down in the engine bay of a 250 ...it helps to be a contortionist It took me about an hour and a half due to all the stretch breaks I had to take ! The new blower works great !
 
Thanks for the link , I actually found the bilge blower yesterday and replaced it ! Tight quarters to work in though ...I've had this boat since it was new and the blower was original , so it was time . Happy boating !
 
Captain Jimbo said:
Success ! I found it inline with the black hoses way back behind the batteries and engine on the transom in a very hard to get to location...but I managed to maneuver in that cramped area and change out the blower ! Thanks everyone for your suggestions ! Things are hard to access down in the engine bay of a 250 ...it helps to be a contortionist It took me about an hour and a half due to all the stretch breaks I had to take ! The new blower works great !
Click to expand...

Welcome to the world of working on boats! :smt001

Sometimes, it's actually easier and quicker to spend a little time removing other things, first.
 
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