Water Pump and a few other ?'s

[hjsmith00843]

Just got my first boat a 16" Sunbird 160 with a 115 mercury motor on it. The motor is a 1987. I serviced the lower unit and I had to have the fuel lines replaced and the carbs cleaned and adjusted.


The previous owner said it was a while since the motor had been serviced. Should I assume that the water pump should be replaced?

The oil from the lower unit was dark with no milky substances but it had a small amount of metal on the magnet. Nothing large just some very small fillings.

Should I install a water/fuel separator. Right now it only has a Mr Gasket fuel filter (not fond of the brand) before the fuel pump and the screen inside of the pump. I see quite a bit of material floating around the fuel filter. Should I go with a better brand of filter?


I need to replace the seat boards and cover them with new vinyl. What material should I use. I was thinking treated plywood or maybe regular plywood with holes drilled in it and covered with a rubber spray on covering like on a bed liner.

 

[Dave1027]

Re: Water Pump and a few other ?'s

Replace both the water pump impeller and the fuel filter. That way you don't have to wonder or worry. It's cheap insurance.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Water Pump and a few other ?'s

The Walmart/Attwood Fuel/Water Separater type canister filter($27), cheap, easy to mount on your transom, great preventive maintenance against plugged carbs. Leave your other motor-mounted fuel filter in place as a redundant back-up filter. Buy the water pump kit and replace it. Get some vinyl fabric and 2" thick foam rubber at piece goods store, put the foam on the board and wrap the vinyl around and staple underneath the board...makes a nice soft, water resistant seat....easy to repair/replace when required!

 

[hjsmith00843]

Re: Water Pump and a few other ?'s

Thanks for the tips and ideas. I got a hair up my but today and looked at all of the electrics. Holy Jerry rigging of a mess. there was whole rolls of wire used to make a jumper for about 5 inches. They left it all coiled up and had everything hidden. The whole boat was full of the quick connects terminals that damage the original wire to make the connection.


I ripped out all of the wiring and found that the primary power wire and negative was old thin speaker wire. I am replacing all of the wiring with the exception of the factory connections.

my horn now works, bilge pump works, gauges light up. i also noticed that the trim gauge is not even hooked up. Can someone give me an idea what wires go to it. It has a three pin connector on it but only two of the pins has wires coming from it.