Recently I embarked on a rather mundane bit of maintenance. Many will argue on the timing of this ritual but I choose every 2 years. I have found over the years that following this timeline has never given me a failure or even the hint of impeller breakdown. I always inspect all the parts and every other rebuild I mic the wear plate to be sure it is still thick enough. Here is a photo of all the pieces parts.
You may be wondering why I tore it all the way down? Well it all looked good until I saw this:
Look at the wear on the end plate bushing. It is quite uneven. That led me to check the play in the main bearing. Bingo, wobble city. So out it all came. The culprit seems to be a failed bearing and upon closer inspection i found a spring clip on the seal completely disintegrated.
While my impellers looked very good, these other issues would have spelled disaster in the future. That worn bearing would have wiped out the cover and or the housing.
So to my headline, Have you looked at your pumps lately????
Cheers, boating season is coming, trust me!
What is the nominal thickness of the wear plate and at what min do you replace it?
Mr Toth says .196