Carter Fuel Pump With Filter?

[stevedar]

I'm still struggling with the littlest things and its the simplest boat you can imagine. A 1997 Maxum with a 3.0L motor (3.0LX) and it's just seawater cooled.

I want to replace the water pump on the engine block (water circulator), but I cannot find the recommendations for torquing that down?

More importantly, I bought (or was sold?) a fuel filter that looks like it belongs underneath the fuel pump, but I've no idea how to get the bowl off. It seems to have a cotter pin (someone called it a "safety wire") so I cannot get a socket over the nut on the bottom. Do I just grab a needle nose pliers and tear away? I can't see under there for beans...

It looks like it should be easy because it's got these long "hooks" if you will that come up from that bottom bolt and connect to the fuel pump itself.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Carter Fuel Pump With Filter?

Sometimes you need to remove the fuel pump for access. does it look like this

 

[stevedar]

Re: Carter Fuel Pump With Filter?

Yes, it looks similar to that one, only the bowl on the bottom is smaller.

For the benefit of others who have to deal with that clamp thingee, here is what I found worked best. First, to get it off, I did have to clip a small "safety wire". I presume that is so that the screw under the clamping device does not jiggle loose. After that, to get it out, I actually had to sort of slide it out to the side. During that endeavor I broke the stone filter, but I was intending to replace the filter anyway. In fact, I was quite surprised that my boat has no fuel/water separator and only some funky piece of clay in there to protect it from getting anything in the carb.

Getting it back on was quite an ordeal. The new filter is a paper filter wih a spring on top. There is just one rubber gasket that fits around the area that the spring goes into. I had it in my head that I should put the bowl back on with the filter and spring in it, then pull the clamp thingee back on similar to how one might deal with a distributor cap. It just would not quite make it even with the clamp down screw loosened as far as it would go. I even tried taking some needle nose vice grips and pulling up on one side, but it wouldn't budge and eventually the vice grip slipped off and I nearly gave myself a bloody nose.

After a couple of hours of cursing and swearing my wife suggested that I put in the rubber gasket first, which I knew would work, then putting the spring into the hole and holding it up there while I slid the bowl into the side of the clamp which was also put into place first. Viola! That's the only way it would go back together...