03 water pump recall strikes again ...

[obd666]

d@mn this has been bizarre. so last week i put in a new impeller and am in the water early sat morning. fire her up and start my normal checks and notice the water doesnt seem to be swirling in the strainer? reach down and grab the water pump, which is spinning just as it should be, and its getting hotter than i know its supposed to. kill the engine and check my hoses, clamps, etc, and everything is as it should be. have never had an issue with it priming up before, so am baffled as to whats going on. once it cooled down, i pulled the pump out and checked for proper orientation of impeller and that the gasket was ok and it was correct. i hadnt let it get hot enough to shred, but i saw that it was mostly dry ?!?!? i went back home, sick to be losing the day at the lake back in the garage, i went through everything cooling wise and couldnt find anything out of sorts, then i remembered something about a water pump recall ...

anyway, so my serial number is listed as one of the ones affected. however, they list the suspect date codes as ZL, AA, AB, and AC. Mine is AD ??? Since i cant figure out any other explanation, im thinking this is the cause. Its just very odd because it has worked fine up until now.

I think i remember some folks having to get a new pump from PCM based on this recall? What would be the best way to engage them? The pcm site seems to be down at the moment. Am wondering if they will still honor the recall this far out? Sorry for the long-winded post, any thoughts?

[TRDon]

I went through my dealer, I suggest you to do the same. If the dealer is far away for you, go to PCM. Or go to PCM and talk to them about it and if the result isnt favorable, try through the dealer. Either way, if your pump is not the list of pumps to replace, I dont know what they would say.

[obd666]

well, my engine serial number is within the recalls range of those affected. but, my date code (AD) seems to be the next ones they made after the ones listed. at any rate, a water pump not priming from that run of production cant be a coincidence. and you're right, who knows what they'll say.

[obd666]

the plot thickens ... so, pcm says that if this was related to the recall, the failure would have happened in the first year (even though the first thing listed on the recall is, "pump wont prime") then said that it was possible my pump is weak, and to try lowering where my strainer is mounted so this afternoon i setup the bucket test, ran it directly into the transmission cooler which leads directly to the rwp. fired it up, it moved the water maybe 6 inches up out of the bucket, then nothing. basically exactly what it did saturday, which pretty much confirms that the pump isnt priming.

if anyone has any ideas as to another possible cause for a rwp not priming i would love to hear it, because ive never even heard of a scenario like this before. ive already flushed back from the thermostat to insure there are no obstructions (there shouldnt have been, but just had to be sure) and made sure all of my hoses/clamps are snug.

[TRDon]

PCM is full of crap, mine did the same thing last year. I did however have a lettered water pump that was part of the recall. My boat had less than 200 hours on it when I got it too. Unless there is a blockage somewhere, it wont prime due to the water pump. It is easier to tell you otherwise in hopes that you will throw out $500 or so for a new one. That is what the price was last year when I needed one. Like I said, if the outcome isnt favorable, perhaps your local dealer had a good relationship with PCM and they can handle it for you. My dealer did for me. Didnt cost me a dime, but I did have to install it myself. I can handle 2 bolts though.

[dawgnautique]

the plot thickens ... so, pcm says that if this was related to the recall, the failure would have happened in the first year (even though the first thing listed on the recall is, "pump wont prime") then said that it was possible my pump is weak, and to try lowering where my strainer is mounted so this afternoon i setup the bucket test, ran it directly into the transmission cooler which leads directly to the rwp. fired it up, it moved the water maybe 6 inches up out of the bucket, then nothing. basically exactly what it did saturday, which pretty much confirms that the pump isnt priming.

if anyone has any ideas as to another possible cause for a rwp not priming i would love to hear it, because ive never even heard of a scenario like this before. ive already flushed back from the thermostat to insure there are no obstructions (there shouldnt have been, but just had to be sure) and made sure all of my hoses/clamps are snug.

wait....am I reading this wrong......you unhooked from the water strainer and put the unhooked end into a bucket and then when you fired it up it RAISED the level in the bucket by 6 inches. When you changed your impeller, did you mark the orientation of the pump to make sure you didn't re-install it upside down? Sounds like it is trying to push air/water back toward the transmission cooler and water strainer instead of pulling it toward the engine. I know you said previously you checked the orientation of the impeller but did you check the orientation of the pump itself? Just trying to help you troubleshoot here.

[obd666]

wait....am I reading this wrong......you unhooked from the water strainer and put the unhooked end into a bucket and then when you fired it up it RAISED the level in the bucket by 6 inches. When you changed your impeller, did you mark the orientation of the pump to make sure you didn't re-install it upside down? Sounds like it is trying to push air/water back toward the transmission cooler and water strainer instead of pulling it toward the engine. I know you said previously you checked the orientation of the impeller but did you check the orientation of the pump itself? Just trying to help you troubleshoot here.

in other words, it was only able to suck the water up out of the bucket, into the tube, around 6 inches - then did no more. my pump is such that it can only go on one way and cannot be oriented upside down or backwards as other rwp can be ... is just hard to believe that after an impeller change it went from operating fine to not able to prime ???

[dawgnautique]

in other words, it was only able to suck the water up out of the bucket, into the tube, around 6 inches - then did no more. my pump is such that it can only go on one way and cannot be oriented upside down or backwards as other rwp can be ... is just hard to believe that after an impeller change it went from operating fine to not able to prime ???

OHHHHH... gotcha...I was thinking you were saying it was raising the level of water in the bucket by 6 inches....I kept thinking...surely this guy realizes the water is going the wrong way. I now understand what you are saying. I would agree that something is not right. Have you double checked every place there could be an air leak...gasket/o-ring on pump.... other than that, I think you are on the right track to make PCM replace it under the recall. Doesn't make sense otherwise.

[slidin_out]

my 2003 SANTE experienced the problem first time i put it in the water this year, took it to PCM guys, said water pump was bad and might be part of the recall, of course after they talked to PCM it was not, gave me the option of putting a new cam in it that may or may not work or just get a new pump, boat has a new pump, it sucked to shell out 600 for parts and install, worst part is we hit a stump the next time out and messed up the fiberglass, prop shaft, prop strut, and propeller, so it could be worse than just buying a new pump

[obd666]

my 2003 SANTE experienced the problem first time i put it in the water this year, took it to PCM guys, said water pump was bad and might be part of the recall, of course after they talked to PCM it was not, gave me the option of putting a new cam in it that may or may not work or just get a new pump, boat has a new pump, it sucked to shell out 600 for parts and install, worst part is we hit a stump the next time out and messed up the fiberglass, prop shaft, prop strut, and propeller, so it could be worse than just buying a new pump

d@mn dude, that does suck ... yeah, it doesnt appear that im going to get pcm to be accountable for it. hopefully i can get out of it for around $400, for just the pump. so, your boat wouldnt prime all of the sudden, just as i described? and after the new pump it primed right up?

[obd666]

TRDon,

did you ever run the old (bad) pump out of a bucket at the house? if so, how did it behave? just curious, thx ...

[slidin_out]

d@mn dude, that does suck ... yeah, it doesnt appear that im going to get pcm to be accountable for it. hopefully i can get out of it for around $400, for just the pump. so, your boat wouldnt prime all of the sudden, just as i described? and after the new pump it primed right up?

correct, i put it in at the main lake to let it run for a few minutes before we headed up river (30 minute drive) with the boat, did this because it was the first time it was ran for the year, after idling for about 10 minutes and a few minutes at about 2k rpm it beeped and went down to limp mode and the temp was high, looked at the strainer and it was half full with no water flow, they swapped it out and it primed up just fine every time since

[LT206]

I have the same issue whenever I have drained all the water out of the system, i.e. after an impeller change or after dewinterization for the first time out of the year. The way I handle it is that I run the boat hooked to a waterhose in the drive way before I head to the lake for the first time. The water hose will put water in the system to prime it without the pump having to suck itself primed. Once the system is primed I never have trouble the rest of the season with the water pump not priming.

[slidin_out]

I have the same issue whenever I have drained all the water out of the system, i.e. after an impeller change or after dewinterization for the first time out of the year. The way I handle it is that I run the boat hooked to a waterhose in the drive way before I head to the lake for the first time. The water hose will put water in the system to prime it without the pump having to suck itself primed. Once the system is primed I never have trouble the rest of the season with the water pump not priming.

This great idea would have probably saved me $500. Lesson learned.

[LT206]

This great idea would have probably saved me $500. Lesson learned.

Yeah, it only took me once overheating in the middle of the lake and shredding my impeller to figure that one out.