2003 sante excalibur 330 raw water pump lubricant

[daletraylor]

What is the best lubricant to use when installing a new impeller, and to add lube to maintain after installation?

[prowake]

soap

[jingram]

The new impeller should come with a little tube of lubricant...

[Paxdad]

Dish soap.


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[daletraylor]

OK, to be a more specific about my situation, I had changed the impeller about a year ago and used the lubricant that came with it and it had been working good. However, on the 4th of July, the belt started squealing and the engine overheated above 3000RPM because the belt was slipping so bad. I have barely put any hours on the boat since redoing the impeller last year, like maybe 5 hours max. When I took the Raw Water Pump off, I could not turn the shaft by hand so I took the back plate off and shot some silicone lube and it broke loose and seems to turn good now. My concern is if I put it back together without some kind of long lasting lube, that I will be going through this experience again real soon. There is what looks like a straight slot screw in the pump housing that I assume is for adding lube to the pump without having to take the pump off of the mounting bracket, however the screw is seized up and will not unscrew. I plan to work on breaking the screw loose, but who knows how that will go. So is there a special lube that will keep the impeller turning freely until it needs to changed out for a new one?

[Skidave]

Was your belt too tight? On the 03s, they were still 'V' belts. Also, I have mentioned before and just recently, there were' several raw water pumps in 03 that had issues. May want to research this site for info.

If the belt is too tight, you will wear out the bearings in the pump before you get the impeller stuck.

[obd666]

yeah, i think the screw is just to drain the water out of the pump during winterization, not for adding lube. the impeller does not require any lube to function, it just makes it easier to insert a new one. iv'e always just used vaseline ...

[slidin_out]

yeah, i think the screw is just to drain the water out of the pump during winterization, not for adding lube. the impeller does not require any lube to function, it just makes it easier to insert a new one. iv'e always just used vaseline ...

Yep the water going through the impeller is the lube. Sounds more like a pump going bad or belt too loose. Soap, Kentucky Jelly, basically any water based product will work for lube to get the impeller back in. Vasoline will break down rubber IIRC. I doubt the small needed to get the impeller in would hurt anything though.

[daletraylor]

Thanks for the feedback guys. So the belt is quite loose, not too tight at all. When the old belt broke a while back, I went to local auto parts store to get a replacement which seemed to have worked fine until recently. But when the pulley started getting hard to turn, the belt started slipping more until the other day when the pulley stopped turning after 3000RPM and overheating occurred. At slower RPM the belt would turn, so I don't know if the belt has gotten stretched out or what. I am replacing the belt however, with one from NautiqueParts.com, which is supposedly the correct belt for my 2003 5.7L PCM Excalibur330 engine, Part # R066026. UPDATE: I just noticed that it is possible to adjust the belt tension by loosening the two bolts that hold the pump mounting bracket to the engine block, so I should be able to take the slack out of the belt that I already have.

But like I said, by the time I took the pump off, I literally could just barely turn shaft with my hands. I took the cover plate off and shot the silicone lube and within a minute it started turning and the shaft will now turn somewhat freely, about like you would expect.

So what would have made the impeller blades stick inside of the pump housing? The engine temp did get a little hot the other day, but not like red line hot.

BTW, the guys at Planet Nautigue told me to only use a water soluble lubricant when installing the impeller, and that once installed, it should not need lubrication, and that the impeller should be replaced a minimum of every year. They also said that if a petro based lube is used on the impeller, that it can cause it swell and stick. Maybe that is what I have going on, but it has been over a year since I installed the impeller, which I used axle grease on, but it has been working fine until this week. I am going to buy a new impeller and see if that fixes the problem.

[SuperAirIan]

As others have said/implied...never use a petroleum-based lube on rubber or petroleum-based media.

[surroundsound64]

I've used castor oil.