Sea water pump replacement Volvo D4 300

[gdrosen]

Volvo recommends either rebuilding or replacing this pump every 4 years or 2000 hrs. Does anyone have any input or experience with this. Mine is a 2020 R31 with only 550 hours.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

isnt this the same as the seawater impeller?

if so lots of folks replace the rubber impeller annually. as its somewhat straight forward and the impact of a damaged one far outweighs the cost of a replacement impeller.

lots of posts on tugnuts about impeller replacement. it may just be confusion on terminology

 

[glider4]

In my copy of the VP Maintenance Schedule for the D4 it says to Replace the “Impeller, Sea Water Pump” every 2 years. But it also says to Inspect the “Seawater Pump Impeller” every 200 hours / at least every 12th month.
If you are going to inspect it every 12th month you have done 95% of the work to replace the impeller and might as well replace it!
If you are going on 4 years and 550 hours your impeller should have been replaced at least twice by now! If it hasn’t ever been replaced, then I would not run the engine again until that work was done.
Worst case quote from a VP mechanic: “If the impeller on your boat breaks or fails, the resulting damage can destroy your engine. Without a constant supply of cold water, the engine will quickly overheat. When an engine overheats, damage to the head gasket, cylinders, and the engine block is possible. Severe damage may require an engine replacement.”
If you don’t want to or can’t do the impeller replacement yourself it’s a relatively quick process for a good VP mechanic to perform.

 

[Gin]

I’m curious about any other answers to gdrosen’s question. I downloaded the service protocol for the D4-300 in my 2019 R31 shortly after we took delivery. That service protocol specified that at every 12 months or 200 hrs (whichever is first), the “Impeller in sea water pump” should be inspected. As others have discussed in this and other threads, it’s usually just replaced given the effort required to inspect it is the same as to replace it. For the 4 year or 2000 hour service, all my original service protocol listed was to replace the coolant.

Last year, I didn’t have the protocol handy at one point when I wanted to look at it, so I downloaded a new copy from Volvo’s website. I didn’t notice any change right away, but I did later. The impeller inspection stayed the same — every 12 months or 200 hours. But the protocol now specifies for every 4 years or 2000 hours, in addition to the coolant change, a “Sea water pump overhaul” and lists it as a “Replace” item. I think that is what the gdrosen is referring to. I’ve been wondering about that protocol and this is the first post I’ve seen on it.

It seems odd to me to mandate an overhaul or replacement of the pump at 4 years. 2000 hours, yes, that might make sense. But replacing it at 4 years without regard to hours or condition seems odd.

FWIW, the protocol that comes up when I put in my serial number is for a “DF-300I-F.” I know that the sea water pump is not the same design in all the D4-300s. What I don’t know is whether that makes a difference on the service protocol.

For those of you with D4-300 engines, you can check the latest protocol by going to Volvo’s website and entering your engine’s serial number. Pull it up and check whether it specifies a sea pump overhaul at 4 yrs/2000 hrs. It would be interesting to know if it isn’t the same for all of us.

Here’s Volvo’s website if you are inclined to look it up. If you do, please post what you learn! https://www.volvopenta.com/your-engine/manuals-and-handbooks/

Gini

 

[glider4]

Gin,
Excellent points as usual. I’m at 7 years and under 700 hours on my D-4 260 without a rebuild of the entire sea water pump assembly. A number of impeller changes of course. I’d never checked out what needed to be done at 2,000 hours because it’s so very far off.
I agree it seems odd to specify a change, not at 2,000 hours which I better understand, but at every 4 years regardless of condition.
Here’s a summary of a parts kit ($130) used for the pump rebuild:
Volvo Penta D4 Raw Water Pump Kit - Fits Volvo Penta D4 3584062 Raw Water Pumps
Includes the following Hiqh quality parts that are mostly OEM.
2 Brand Name Dual Contact Sealed Bearings (Depending on Supply we use KBC, SKF, PEER bearings)
1 Mechanical Seal
1 Inner Wear Plate
1 Impeller
1 Impeller Lube
1 O-Ring
1 Retaining Ring

Have never had any VP shop ever suggest I needed to have the sea water pump rebuilt. Has anyone ever had this done?

 

[BB marine]

I will give my opinion on the subject. Manufactures give recommendations as to preventative maintenance schedules. The years usually relates to the average boater and the hours to the "long term" cruiser or commercial boat owner. Marine age (years) should be used by the average boater and hours by the "Long term cruiser". When I'm the weekend warrior I do all service work based on yearly maintenance. Oil changes once a year, anode replacement, reverse gear oil replacement, Belt inspections and tighten, impeller replacement. I do antifreeze replacement every two years .......... Basically follow the recommendations.

When I am doing each service inspection or replacement based on recommendations. I do inspections. If I am inspecting the belt tension. I am also inspecting the condition of the belt. If I see unusual wear I replace it, If it looks good I tighten if needed.Oil and filters I also inspect by sampling, getting results back that determine the oil condition. Is the yearly frequency sufficient.

When I do my yearly impeller replacement. I may only have 150 hours since last replacement. I still remove the impeller and why put an old impeller back in? I put a new one in. Before installing the impeller I get my mirror out with a flash light and do a full wear inspection of the wear plates . I grab the shaft and feel for play deflection -Up/down/side to side play. If the belt is removed I would rotate the pulley and feel for a smooth rotation. Look for any signs of pump leakage. You will see if it leaked. If I have 700 hours on the pump and the engine has been in service for 6 years and all inspections proofed this pump to be in good working order. I'm putting a impeller in and I am confident that I will have smooth sailing.

The manufactures recommendations need to be followed with discretion. I am a DIY boat owner. Servicing technicians should have the same mind set. Follow the recommendations with discretion. Learn from experience. The harsher the environment the more stringent the service is. The boat owner that keeps his boat in a harbor with shallow water and silt kicks up mud every time going into the slip. There is going to have more wear to the impeller and raw water components than the boat owner that is in fresh water, deep marina basin. Volvo doesn't know where the boat is used. Their recommendations are based on an overall average.

Anti-freeze replacement should be more frequent to the low hour engine than the high hour engine. Impeller replacement on the yearly schedule should remain the same if you put 80 hours or 500 hours on the engine. The impeller will last along time if it is spinning and not sitting in one position for periods of time. Last year while traveling the Loop I put 650 hours on the engines in 12 months. I changed my oil every 200 hour, both engine and reverse gear. I replaced the antifreeze before leaving on the trip. I replaced belts before leaving on the trip, I replaced impellers before leaving on the trip. I do daily engine inspections looking for obvious issues. At 12 months I did my full yearly inspections, I replaced my impellers at 650 hours and inspected the pump components. The impellers looked like I just installed them. When I removed them they had no set and when compared to the new impeller each blade lined up. I never saw that when I did my yearly with 100 hours on the engine. The belts looked new. There was a bit of belt dust but that is normal wear. My 200 hour oil samples were better than any of my yearly oil samples. Better yes but all samples were well with in range . The numbers were just lower. The anti freeze looked like I had just put it in. I use color clarity as a guide. I removed a sample from the exchanger and a sample of new antifreeze from the gallon container. I compared. I could not pick which one had 650 hours or new. Simple things to do while following the Manufactures recommendations and using discretion when being a DIY owner. We hope that servicing technicians use the same methods.

The bottom line. Go through the recommendations provided by the manufacturer. Look at all the items. Think about how you are using the boat. Based on past experience, local knowledge from a marine repair facility. Use common sense, determine what is the best service option for your equipment the way you use it.

 

[Gin]

Brian, thanks as always for the post, and particularly how to view that 4 yr/2000 hr service protocol on the sea water pump, plus the tips on inspecting annually as part of the impeller change.

Gini

 

[gdrosen]

I am referring to the salt water pump not the impeller.

 

[BB marine]

I am referring to the salt water pump not the impeller.

This is from previous post. This is inspecting the pump rather than replacing the pump. Volvo uses recommendations based on different conditions of use. They also know that the average boater is not going to inspect the pump tp see if it needs to be replaced. The average marine technician is not either. Volvo recommendation is to just replace it. Volvo says Buy our parts and pay our service technicians to install it and you will have a dependable raw water system. A good DIY boat owner can also inspect the pump for wear, seal failure and bearing failure. At each impeller change. The DIY owner knows the conditions that the boat and equipment has been operated in.

Was the pump ever run dry? Has the boat been grounded and powered off ? Has the boat been moored in a shallow yacht basin where silt, sand and mud have been stirred up and pumped through the raw water system? Is the boat used 100% in Salt water?

Water conditions with silt can damage wear surfaces, mechanical seals surfaces can be damaged from dirty water, The seal uses the raw water pumped to keep the seal area flushed so the seal faces do not get damaged. Dirty water can damage pump seals. Proper belt tension and belt care, pump pulley inspection and inspecting and replacing the impeller also helps keep the pump busy and components in good working order.

The servicing technician familiar with your boating conditions knows to inspect pump components when replacing the impeller. At this time he /she should advise replacement of the pump or rebuilding the pump. The service centers do not rebuild any more. Their labor is to replace. Many technicians will damage the pump rebuilding it. (lack of knowledge and experience.) Service managers don't want the liability of rebuilding. They would rather swap the pump out with new and use the manufactures warranty to pay for technician quality issues. This is the reality of service work today.

This is not to say that there are not good technicians out there. If you know a good one, support him/her and follow their recommendations. They know the area and the common failures associated with the way a boat is operated in the area.

Volvo makes recommendations based on worst case! My opinion is they are slack at some maintenance items and over the top on others. They sell parts and sell engines. Parts sales is a money maker. Reliable engines is marketing. Keep new parts installed reliability increases. There is a cost for that type of reliability!!

The Raw water pump in a Volvo is made by a pump company. Not Volvo! There are several engine manufacture that use the same pump. I have a Johnson pump in a Yanmar. Yanmar's recommendation for impeller replacement is 1000 hours or 4 years . Pump inspection is 2000 hours (wear) No years associated with pump wear. The pump is the same as Volvo's but the recommendations are completely different. Yanmar recommends at 2000 hours rebuild the pump and all raw water components ,Exchanger, after cooler and oil cooler.

Your question is "should I replace the pump or pump components at 4 years with 550 hours because that is what Volvo Recommends?" Use your knowledge of how you operate the boat. Remove the impeller and inspect the pump.

When I do my yearly impeller replacement. I may only have 150 hours since last replacement. I still remove the impeller and why put an old impeller back in? I put a new one in. Before installing the impeller I get my mirror out with a flash light and do a full wear inspection of the wear plates . I grab the shaft and feel for play deflection -Up/down/side to side play. If the belt is removed I would rotate the pulley and feel for a smooth rotation. Look for any signs of pump leakage. You will see if it leaked. If I have 700 hours on the pump and the engine has been in service for 6 years and all inspections proofed this pump to be in good working order. I'm putting a impeller in and I am confident that I will have smooth sailing.

 

[gdrosen]

Thanks to all for input

 

[American Flyer]

Brian, you are recommending using common sense! That seems to be in short supply now days. If you’ve got it, use it.

As a successful shade tree mechanic for over 60 years I’ll add one more consideration to the mix. Parts fail for many reasons. Over the years I have experienced a number of breakdowns due to the failure of a newly installed part! (No, it was not installation error.) Manufacturers are not exempt from errors and defects. This knowledge goes into the equation when deciding whether to replace a part that is working fine and not nearing its wear limits.

That one year old impeller that has proven itself and shows no wear may last for many more years and hours. That new one you just installed may have a hidden weakness and fail next month.

Smooth sailing! Brien

 

[glider4]

Great explanations Brian! Thanks!