centuridude

Update: I got the pump out without too much grief. Here is what I did in case others need to remove the pump. Total time was 35-40 mins. 1) Removed the port side divider between the locker and the engine 2) Removed 2 bolts on the black fuel device (fuel cooler??) between the water pump and the port locker 3) Removed a 2-wire electrical connector and small rubber hose on top of this fuel device 4) Pushed the fuel device out of the way (with the other hoses to the device still connected) 5) Loosened the hose clamps to the water pump (two on the upper hose, one on the lower hose) 6) Removed a front-mounted bolt and a separate nut which secures the pump bracket to the engine 7) Pulled the hoses off of the pump and maneuvered the pump out of the engine compartment I then opened up the pump to see what failed. It looks like one of the pulley bearings failed. The impeller looked pretty good with only a minor tear in one of the fins. Fortunately the impeller didn't exploded causing me to go find all the pieces. The pump housing had obviously been taken apart previous -- probably to replace the impeller. At this point, I am going to replace the whole pump (except for the pulley) rather than attempt a re-build. I figure it is reasonably cheap insurance towards future problems. Where is a reputable place to buy Mercruiser parts? I would prefer somewhere on the west side of the US so that I can get the replacement pump quicker.

Thanks for the information. I have about 420 hours on the boat.

Looks really good. Glad to hear that it was a pretty easy modification. Let us know how it works out when you get out on the water.

I am almost positive that the GPS 400 is plug and play as far as the cabling goes. Where I am not certain if it is plug and play would be the software difference of the much newer GPS unit interfacing with the older software (my is V5) of the MercMonitor. I think a call to Mercury would be in order to make sure that they are compatible software-wise. I do know that Mercury will NOT update the MercMonitor to make it a current version (it is something like V7 now). A stationary GPS is going to acquire signal quicker than a moving GPS. So it will be good for you to test the new GPS location when the boat is moving. Please post a picture of the re-located puck. If it was a pretty simply change, then I will probably do it too.

When I opened up the puck, I was intending on replacing the battery. However, once I saw how small it was and couldn't identify it to buy a replacement, I decided to hold off on replacing it. It will be very tricky to replace it as it is soldered in and it is difficult to get to the pads to unsolder it. I will likely pull it out again in a few weeks (once my summer starts to slow down) and see if I can replace it. How long have you had your Avalanche? Has the slow lock time always been a problem for you? If not, then that would point to a battery problem in the puck. Removing the 3 screws on the bottom side of the dash will allow the puck to become free. You will then need to pull up on the puck (it is not threaded) and remove the connecting cable to remove it completely. The connecting cables looks to be about 5-6 feet long.

Wakedirt, I got the impression that the GPS 400 is plug and play, but didn't ask specifically. It would be worth asking before making the investment. I did pull my puck out a couple of weeks ago and placed it above the windshield for testing. In that case, it would lock in just over a minute. However, I am not totally convinced that it is just a location problem. I did open up my puck and found the battery that is in there. It is a tiny watch-style battery that would need to be unsoldered to be replaced. From the literature that I have found on the GPS100, it sounds like it should lock up very quickly if you are doing a "hot start" on the boat (meaning that the GPS was locked just recently). Apparently the battery is used to keep record of the satellites that it was last locked to, making it quicker to lock the next time it is powered up. So if that battery is dead or weak, then you lose that record and it needs to start from scratch locating satellites again -- hence the long acquire time. At least that is my theory... I'd be interested to hear your results if you decide to move the puck. I just noticed that you had already started a thread on this a few days ago. Sounds like it may be a common problem.

My GPS "puck" is located behind the MercMonitor inside the dash, probably in the same place as your.. I do have pics, but I don't have access to them right now, so I will have to post them later. Here is a link to a GPS 400 on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercury-Marine-SmartCraft-GPS-400-/261942062864