Not Pulling Water from Lake

I had the same problem with my '68. Replacing the impeller did not help. I took the pump apart and found deep grooves worn into the brass housing. I polished them out with an emery cloth wheel and a hand drill. I bought a complete rebuild kit which included a brass wear plate that screws in the pump housing and a new bearing. The bearing looks to be made of some kind of ceramic material. When trying to remove the old bearing it just cracked and split in two. The new bearing was easy to install by aligning it carefully and gently tapping it in with a small hammer and an appropriate sized socket used as a "bearing driver tool". The bearing was beveled on one end to help it self-align when installing.

This cured the problem and the pump now sucks like crazy.

Jim,

Where did you purchase the rebuild kit. I'm sure it is due for one. The brass wear plate on my pump is a little worn, but the inside is very smooth. I can imagine the bearing in mine might need replacing. Thanks!

Workky,

Good call! Thanks, I'll check that next.

Did you have the pump off????
If it's like my 87, with the Sherwood pump it will go on either way (and both ways will appear right). I had the same exact problem about 2 years ago with the same symptoms. I flipped the pump 180 degrees and everything started cooling again. Since, I marked the pump so I wont make that mistake again.

Thanks Fellows,

I think I found the culprit with your help. It might have been sucking some air. I tightened all the band clamps leading from the pick-ups to the pump and it will pull water now. It does however still run hot. I have another post on that problem. Happy Boating!