Livewell pump replacement...

[TOMMY RICH]

Has anyone replaced their livewell pump on a newer 175 or 185? I need to replace mine and was wondering if you can just take the two screws out of the bottom and just replace the cartridge?

Thanks for any info..

TEE

 

[TrepMan]

TEE - I replaced both of my livewell pump with Mayfair cartridge ones. My 175 is a 2000 model. The Mayfairs have the removable cartridge, the Rule models that come with the Tracker's do not have removable cartridges. You have to replace the entire pump. The Mayfairs fit tightly but they did fit and work great! I actualy found the Mayfairs here localy for less then the Rules.



Trep

 

[TOMMY RICH]

There's NO room! Tracker can't even tell me how it comes out...it's mounted horizontally. And it has the re-circulator attached to the bottom.

You have to be a midget or magician..I guess.

TEE

 

[Bryan Fary]

I had a 1998 pt185 and my livewell pump went out. i screwed with the darn thing for several hours and couldn't get it out. i called my local dealer, he said he was familiar with it and could do the job in about an hour. took it to him and when it was all said and done it was $125 total. took him 45min. i asked him how he did it. he said it was easy. must be some trade secret to replacing. once the new one was in, it took it a couple of min. to prime itself (thought it was still broken) but after that it worked fine.



bryan

 

[TrepMan]

The 185s or the newer ones must have be designed differently. My 175 (2000 model) I just screwed the plastic nut off the exterior of the transom, disconnected the fill pipe from the pump, and cut the electrical wires. Just reverse the process for the new ones.



I guess they didn't improve it in the new ones!!

 

[Steve Rizza]

Tee,after you get it out,tear it apart.I took mine out to get a new one and since it did not work,I decided to tear it apart.I found a little piece of wood lodged in it.It has worked fine ever since.

Mine came out just like Trep said.



Steve R.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

That's It!!! I'm done..turn me over!

I TRIED last night to remove it and all I can say is.." I would like to kick the @#$%*& out of the guy that designed the location. It and the bilge were put in before the fuel tank was. The livewell pump is mounted DIRECTLY over top of the bilge pump. They could have moved it 6" to the right and wouldn't have a problem.

I have worked a lot of stuff..boats and cars...and have never seen something so hard to get to.

This is one of the re-circulating wells so there's an extra canister mounted on the bottom. From what I can see there may be some kind of plastic nut on the bottom of the bracket where the two connect but, there would be NO way of getting anything down there.

I'm seriously considering leaving it be and mounting another one more accessible...any suggestions WILL be appreciated.

Thanks,

TEE

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

That's a good idea Tee. Can you get to the fill tube though? I would guess as long as you can disconnect that you should be able to install a new one in an easier location.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Thanx Bruce...I called Tracker and the guy there didn't even know it is not a replacable cartridge. I disconnected two of the three hose clamps but cannot even get to the third one. This won't help at this point but, I'm definitely calling the corprate headquarters and recommending they change that design so noone else will hopefully have to go thru something like this to replace A SIMPLE LIVEWELL PUMP!

I Swear they did it on purpose...that's O.K...That's just ONE more reason for me NOT to recommend a Tracker.

TEE

BTW...I'm calling flo-rite to see if they can help...this si rediculous...

 

[Jim B]

I have a buddy who has a 185 and i helped him change the pump, i didnt think it was that bad, at least compared to my 882. what we had to do was unthread the pump a bit from the valve and it came right out, there is also a nut on the threads between the pump and valve. its not an easy job but can be done. at least on the 185 you can see the pump to work in it. on my 882 its buried under the gas tank, to change mine i had to go into the bilge up to my waist and i still couldnt see it, had to do the whole job blind. he installed a mayfair cartidge type pump so next time there will be no hassles, i did the same with mine. when you get it out gat a 750gph one, the more flow the better imho.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Jim...how did you unthread the pump and how did you get a wrench or anything to loosen it. What year was that 185?

I still can't picture how it would unthread?

TEE

 

[Jim B]

Tee

his 185 is a 99 or a 2000 im not sure. i grabbed the pump and the valve and turned them, its just threaded fit thats all, the bracket is sandwiched between the pump and the valve, there also was a nut in there on the pumps threads. but i didnt really need any tools to get it apart. the access is a pain in the neck but still better then my 882, i cant believe the brainpower at work when they designed mine. it looks like they put all the plumbing in then installed the gas tank, if i ever have to replace my bilge pump im screwed its buried even further under there.

i threw in a pict of the pump/valve assy from flow rites website so you can see what i mean.
http://www.flow-rite.com

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Mine is a different design I think. I just got off the phone with Flo-Rite...Talk about customer service! They are shipping me one of the NEW ones with a replaceable cartridge OVERNITE! No Charge either!

I just left a message with BPS service center to talk to someone who has actually replaced one of these.

Thanks Jim and I agree that noone was thinkin' about replacement when they put those in that way...doesn't make sense.

TEE

 

[Gene B]

All car companies have a special engineer that looks at the first car off the line for each model. His job is to look at how easy things are to get at. If he can see the part in question it raises a red flag. If he can actually get at the part then the car goes back for revision. Guess Tracker has one too.



Gene

 

[Jim B]

That makes sence Gene, I would love to meet the genius who decided where to put the oil filter on my Dakota.