How to plug up your bilge pump, then fix

[DarksideR 1,679]

Last month we were having a great old time out on the water when I noticed a funny sound. Turned out that the bilge pump wasn't pumping and there was a lot of water in there. Fortunately I had installed an auxiliary line to my ballast system. Used it to suck the water out. The next day it was time to contort my old body into a ridiculous position in order to get at the bilge pump to try to troubleshoot. Newer model Centurions have the bilge pump mounted in THE MOST difficult place to get to. Right behind some angle iron piece that I believe the rudder mechanism mounts to. Anyway, I pulled out the pump and turned it upside down. The float triggers the pump to fire up, but the little plastic impeller ain't spinning. There's one screw holding a guard/body to the rest of the housing. Here's what I find.

 

 

The metal stud that spins the impeller was completely rusted away... non existent. And all that black junk was crammed in around the impeller. Turns out that black stuff was bits of a serpentine belt. Immediately I checked out my belt... it was perfectly fine. So I guess the previous owner had one shred on her and never cleaned up the bits. Or whoever did her maintenance. So, I cleaned up everything I could see and reach and proceeded to install a new bilge pump.

 

Next time out, the pump worked perfectly. Now, weeks later, I take the boat out again (second time since install) and... bilge pump no worky. FML. So today I pulled the new pump back out and it works perfectly in my hand. So now I'm thinking maybe the hose is plugged. So I disconnect the hose from the pump and shove it into a milk jug. Grab the garden hose and crank it on and put it into the side thru hull for about ten seconds. Seemed to flow, so I checked the jug. Yep, full of water. Pour it out and find a full handful more of the shredded serpentine belt!

 

 

Put it all back together and now have my fingers crossed that that was the last of it.

 

Thought about parking the boat on a hill and flushing the bilge, but that's easier said than done. Finding a hill is no biggie. Having water supply at said hill is another story.

 

Cheers.

[duramat 462]

WOW!

 

Nice find Dark! That's a a lot of shred...

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TL68 40]

Maybe you should take the pump out and flood the bilge. Then take it for a spin and pull the drain plugs. A wet/dry may help remove some of the left over items.Seems like you boat came with a lot of accessories, in the bilge area.

[RhuntIII 555]

TL68, that's a good idea.

 

After the wreck I spent several hours with my trailer's tongue high in the air supported by a Highlift/tractor jack to clean the bilge. Make sure the boat os on level ground and the rear wheel are chalked. Put that jack on the very tip of the trailer. This was very dangerous and I had to reposition the jack several times to keep it from falling over to the side. Once in the air I was very careful when leaning over the gunnels to clean/spray out the bilge.

 

I also did a little cheating once the tow bracket was finished for the lift. I can't find the pictures for the lift.

 

[TL68 40]

Hey Dark, maybe you should send all those tidbits back to FINELINE, or we can start a "guess what I found in my bilge" post.

RHUNT, you put the dangerous in dangerously listed! Good thing oseh didn't stop by for a visit while you were doing that project.

[boatnut 230]

Hey Dark, maybe you should send all those tidbits back to FINELINE, or we can start a "guess what I found in my bilge" post.

RHUNT, you put the dangerous in dangerously listed! Good thing oseh didn't stop by for a visit while you were doing that project.

Or just get a tractor with a bucket;)

[DarksideR 1,679]

LOL.

Yeah, finding bits of various materials in the hulls of our boats is nothing new. Unfortunately it's never a Rolex or a diamond ring.

[viking 491]

holy balls that's a lot of shrapnel!

[TL68 40]

Damn bilge gnomes! Busy little suckers.

[Pete 3 1]

Newbie chiming in here -- a just bought a nice '08 Typhoon. After two weeks, bearings on the water pump failed, which walked the water pump shaft aft into the exhaust. Belt of course shredded & overheat alarm went off as designed. Good thing is that the engine is fine, just had to get new water pump ($450) & belt ($90) plus brutal labor to get down to replace that pump. That was two weeks ago & now my bilge pump is popping the fuse & not running -- this post tells me what I will find when I dig it out on Friday night -- thank you!

[daz28iroc 73]

my bilge was sticking for a few trips out, and finally found the culprit, a short (2") piece of snipped off zap strap was sitting through the grill so it didn't still always just once in a while.

 

also found a couple stainless screws and a blue winterizing plug in the hull.. just gotta figure out where they go or if they were replaced.

[DarksideR 1,679]

Newbie chiming in here -- a just bought a nice '08 Typhoon. After two weeks, bearings on the water pump failed, which walked the water pump shaft aft into the exhaust. Belt of course shredded & overheat alarm went off as designed. Good thing is that the engine is fine, just had to get new water pump ($450) & belt ($90) plus brutal labor to get down to replace that pump. That was two weeks ago & now my bilge pump is popping the fuse & not running -- this post tells me what I will find when I dig it out on Friday night -- thank you!

 

Hopefully that is the issue. Take care of it before the bilge pump needs to be replaced. And although I didn't do it, it'd be a good idea to flush the entire bilge to the drain with a water hose.

Glad my thread could help you.

 

my bilge was sticking for a few trips out, and finally found the culprit, a short (2") piece of snipped off zap strap was sitting through the grill so it didn't still always just once in a while.

 

also found a couple stainless screws and a blue winterizing plug in the hull.. just gotta figure out where they go or if they were replaced.

This is not an uncommon thing to find in the bottom of these boats. Almost everyone that has dug around in their hulls has found screws, washers, zap straps, wire trimmings. Don't stress too much trying to find where they came from.

[Pete 3 1]

Thanks DarksideR -- appreciate the posts!

[Pete 3 1]

Ok - I need some advice here. I can barely see the bilge pump with a flashlight, but I cannot reach it between the belt and exhaust. does anyone have a trick to get down to the bilge pump -- it's extremely tight.... thx

[DarksideR 1,679]

Ok - I need some advice here. I can barely see the bilge pump with a flashlight, but I cannot reach it between the belt and exhaust. does anyone have a trick to get down to the bilge pump -- it's extremely tight.... thx

Get in the most uncomfortable position imaginable. Join a yoga class. Throw your child in there. If no child, borrow one.

 

All joking aside, it's definitely difficult to get to. Mine was almost impossible to detach from the base.

Sorry man.

[c22burns 3]

Has anyone removed the Engine Hatch cover to access the bilge pump easier? I'm fairly small and I haven't successfully accessed my bilge pump yet to clean it out.

[CeeDee 16]

Take out the divider between the compartments.

[Tommywalton1974 175]

Has anyone removed the Engine Hatch cover to access the bilge pump easier? I'm fairly small and I haven't successfully accessed my bilge pump yet to clean it out.

You have to approach this with backward reasoning. If your feet are not in the air, and your head and shoulders smashed against the floor and the exhaust manifold you will not ever reach it.

 

Also there is no real advantage to being small, unless you have monkey arms. If you put your feet in the locker, you have already lost the battle

Edited February 1, 2017 by Tommywalton1974

[c22burns 3]

Got it out. Thanks

[freddiefokker 2]

If you shred a serp belt, and I have twice over the 10 years that I've owned my Typhoon, I can guarantee there's belt shards in your bilge and if your bilge pump is messing up, I'll bet you a steak dinner that's what's causing it.