Bilge pump replacement question - sundancer 240 1999

[Colin lighten]

the pump has stoped working, as I don't have a maintenance manual, does anyone know how difficult it is to replace the bilge pump

 

[sbw1]

Should be straight forward. Remove it to see the gallons per hour it pumps and locate a new Rule pump or similar brand on line and replace it with a new one. Take a pic of the wiring before you cut wires. Also would be smart to check the fuse for that circuit to see if it is blown. Also make sure you have power to the pump before assuming the pump is bad. Read up on wiring connections if you are new to doing this sort of work. Also read about water intrusion caused by screws penetrating hull cores.

 

[Blueone]

If it’s a rule….the new ones are not a direct replacement for some stupid reason….. so a new hole in your boat is required to mount it

 

[Nater Potater]

the pump has stoped working, as I don't have a maintenance manual, does anyone know how difficult it is to replace the bilge pump

A lot of the pumps are held down by first anchoring a plastic base to the bilge floor, then the pump clicks into that base. Many of the older pumps can be released from their bas by giving them a counter-clockwise twist. It's possible (like mine was) that some foreign body is stuck in the impeller, and can be simply cleared to start running again.

 

[Bill Curtis]

Yeah, Nater, IF you can reach it, under the engine. Fortunately, in this case anyway, I have arms like an orangutan, so I was able to get at mine in my last Chaparral.

 

[Arminius]

A built in float switch is convenient and the modern substitute is a water sensor rather than a float. Multiple leads allow direct wiring to the boat's fused dash switch (bypassing the float) and also through an included in-line fuse directly to the battery, providing automatic protection. Can you mount it where the old one was? Mine seems to have been installed before the engine was lowered over it.

 

[Lazy Daze]

the pump has stoped working, as I don't have a maintenance manual, does anyone know how difficult it is to replace the bilge pump

Colin, there is no "maintenance manual" for these boats so don't look any further for that. No such thing exists. The general consensus is that if you're going to do your own wrenching on boats is that you can "figure it out" Of course, this forum does help!

As other pointed out, though, it's really pretty straight forward. You're lucky that you have a nice bilge to work in and access is pretty good - just lay down in front of the engine. If you're handy, it might take 15 minutes to remove the pump.

Also, as mentioned, do your due diligence in confirming that the pump is, indeed, bad, before replacing it.

 

[Arminius]

On my SeaRay, there is an extra lead directly to the battery bypassing the battery switch. This lead should not be disconnected as it goes through an in line fuse to the float switch operating the bilge pump even when you have left the battery switch off such that the pump would not be operable by the switch on the dash. The extra battery lead also goes to the radio to maintain the presets in the volatile memory used in 2003.

 

[Colin lighten]

Thanks all for the replies