MadDog
New Member
I'm interested in any good suppliers of cummins parts for our sport yachts. I think my local cummins guy needs some competition - or is $360 + tax reasonable for a QSM-11 impeller??... :smt089
Looking for a recommendation for online cummins parts
- Thread starter MadDog
- Start date
If your boat is like mine (1 year difference), the impellers are Sherwood 18000K units and you can buy them online for about $190.00. Just do a search on google. I can't seem to post the link here... geez. (It's the online store associated with "another board")
Is this the first time you have changed out the impellers? If so, I can share a few of the things I have learned.. especially on that port side engine.
Is this the first time you have changed out the impellers? If so, I can share a few of the things I have learned.. especially on that port side engine.
MadDog
New Member
This is the first time I've changed them, the S/B one was relatively easy, I haven't got to the port one yet. Any advice or pointers would be great!
Do you have the Sherwood impeller puller? I used a 3/4" bolt which got the impeller out about an inch which was enough for me to wiggle it out. I think that's going to be hard on the port side.
Also, I noticed the pin inside the housing that the cam slides into seems to float. Is that the same with you?
Thanks for the reference to the 18000k unit. i peeled back the cummins part sticker from the box and lo and behold it was a sherwood part number underneath.
Have you ever backflushed the sea water system?
regards
mark
Do you have the Sherwood impeller puller? I used a 3/4" bolt which got the impeller out about an inch which was enough for me to wiggle it out. I think that's going to be hard on the port side.
Also, I noticed the pin inside the housing that the cam slides into seems to float. Is that the same with you?
Thanks for the reference to the 18000k unit. i peeled back the cummins part sticker from the box and lo and behold it was a sherwood part number underneath.
Have you ever backflushed the sea water system?
regards
mark
This is where I could go back and get a post I did for SRO. These are the things I've learned now doing 3 impeller changes on my boat.... and I've made a few mistakes and I'm sure someone can pipe in and tell me a better way. One of the first things I learned is to get a real impeller puller as the "bolt" just requires too much force and you end up damaging the cam trying to pry the dumb thing out on the port side.
The starboard engine is easy. You can basically sit by the pump and change out things as needed and you have good leverage to put that big honkin' piece of rubber back in the hole. I've learned, however, that is a great place to practice techniques on getting the port side changed out.
First thing I learned about the cam is that it comes out when you pull the impeller and that floating pin falls out of the pump into the raw water intake hose.... and then you end up taking the short piece of hose off (cutting it off), replacing it, etc., to get the pin back. What I do is after I take the pump cover off I put 2 of the cover bolts back in with flat washers on them to hold both halfs of the cam so the impeller does not pull them out.... and then the pin does not fall out.
To get the impeller back in, this is my secret. You probably noticed that the hardest part was getting the darn thing in with the fins in the right direction and then moving it so it was centered on the shaft and not in the cam. Doing this on the port side with no leverage is the problem. The first thing I did was create something I called an "impeller wedge" which was basically a piece of maple that looked like a paint stick that is the shape of the buldge in the cam. I put this wedge on the opposite side of the cam bulge so the impeller is "centered" on the shaft when in goes into the pump housing. That is the limit of my woodworking skills and I will tell you that I should patent this thing and get it molded in plastic and sell them because the impellers I replace just slide on the shaft with this wedge in there. The other thing I do is grease them up with silicon and then put a big tie wrap on them very tight with the fins in the right direction. This way, the impeller just slides on the shaft and I slip the tie wrap off and bingo... it is literally an operation I can do in tight quarters almost with one hand.
So then comes the issue with the 480 DB and that port side engine water pump access. I am a 200 pound 6 foot guy and getting on that side of the engine is impossible. I got back there on my first change and swore that would never happen again. Just an FYI... your body will swell to 3 times its size once you are wedged back there. You end up feeling like Winnie the Pooh. And on top of that, you will yank and damage wires back there trying to wiggle around. I have bitten the bullet the last 2 changes and just taken the exhaust pipe off. It is a heck of alot easier than wedging back there. I do have to replace the exhuast clamps (West Marine) because they tend to gall when putting them back on but it is very straight forward and beats getting stuck in there. With the access you have with that out, it is also a great time to clean and check out that side of the engine..... there are several zincs in the fuel cooler that need to be replaced back there. If those fuel cooler zincs get to a point of breaking off, they will go right into water pump and tear up the impeller. I also put a couple of old pillows down to lay on as there is stuff that pokes you to death laying by that engine.
So... There you have it... my 2 cents.
Oh... when I hired a mechanic (Cummins), he ignored that side because he couldn't fit back there. When I replace the zincs the first time... they were the originals.... their excuse was that "fuel coolers don't need zincs"... yeah... right... they need to be replaced WAY BEFORE they fall off.
Backflushing the QSM-11 is a whole different post. In a nutshell, I have found taking the system apart around the aftercooler is more effective and Cummins could not have engineered a harder process. That stainless tube from the water pump to the aftercooler deposits all kinds of nice "gifts" at the enterance to the aftercooler that backflushing does not remove.
The starboard engine is easy. You can basically sit by the pump and change out things as needed and you have good leverage to put that big honkin' piece of rubber back in the hole. I've learned, however, that is a great place to practice techniques on getting the port side changed out.
First thing I learned about the cam is that it comes out when you pull the impeller and that floating pin falls out of the pump into the raw water intake hose.... and then you end up taking the short piece of hose off (cutting it off), replacing it, etc., to get the pin back. What I do is after I take the pump cover off I put 2 of the cover bolts back in with flat washers on them to hold both halfs of the cam so the impeller does not pull them out.... and then the pin does not fall out.
To get the impeller back in, this is my secret. You probably noticed that the hardest part was getting the darn thing in with the fins in the right direction and then moving it so it was centered on the shaft and not in the cam. Doing this on the port side with no leverage is the problem. The first thing I did was create something I called an "impeller wedge" which was basically a piece of maple that looked like a paint stick that is the shape of the buldge in the cam. I put this wedge on the opposite side of the cam bulge so the impeller is "centered" on the shaft when in goes into the pump housing. That is the limit of my woodworking skills and I will tell you that I should patent this thing and get it molded in plastic and sell them because the impellers I replace just slide on the shaft with this wedge in there. The other thing I do is grease them up with silicon and then put a big tie wrap on them very tight with the fins in the right direction. This way, the impeller just slides on the shaft and I slip the tie wrap off and bingo... it is literally an operation I can do in tight quarters almost with one hand.
So then comes the issue with the 480 DB and that port side engine water pump access. I am a 200 pound 6 foot guy and getting on that side of the engine is impossible. I got back there on my first change and swore that would never happen again. Just an FYI... your body will swell to 3 times its size once you are wedged back there. You end up feeling like Winnie the Pooh. And on top of that, you will yank and damage wires back there trying to wiggle around. I have bitten the bullet the last 2 changes and just taken the exhaust pipe off. It is a heck of alot easier than wedging back there. I do have to replace the exhuast clamps (West Marine) because they tend to gall when putting them back on but it is very straight forward and beats getting stuck in there. With the access you have with that out, it is also a great time to clean and check out that side of the engine..... there are several zincs in the fuel cooler that need to be replaced back there. If those fuel cooler zincs get to a point of breaking off, they will go right into water pump and tear up the impeller. I also put a couple of old pillows down to lay on as there is stuff that pokes you to death laying by that engine.
So... There you have it... my 2 cents.
Oh... when I hired a mechanic (Cummins), he ignored that side because he couldn't fit back there. When I replace the zincs the first time... they were the originals.... their excuse was that "fuel coolers don't need zincs"... yeah... right... they need to be replaced WAY BEFORE they fall off.
Backflushing the QSM-11 is a whole different post. In a nutshell, I have found taking the system apart around the aftercooler is more effective and Cummins could not have engineered a harder process. That stainless tube from the water pump to the aftercooler deposits all kinds of nice "gifts" at the enterance to the aftercooler that backflushing does not remove.
- Mar 10, 2004
- 5,113
Four Suns, links to other boards and store are allowed. The only one that is not allowed is to Les's site as he does not allow them on his.
MadDog
New Member
Wow, this is great info. Thanks very much for taking the time to write this. I'll try this out this weekend.
mark
ps I found impellers for $190 locally. (18000k part number)
mark
ps I found impellers for $190 locally. (18000k part number)
