Water pump not pumping water

**ShrimpBurrito** · 11-12-2008, 08:45 PM

The TM gods are working against us. Pulled out of a site with hookups, where it had dropped into the 20s two nights in a row. I did empty the water heater and the 2 drains under the shower.

Then pulled into a site in the boonies with no hookups, and quickly discovered the water pump was kapootz. Flip the switch, the pump motor runs (although much quieter than usual), but no water comes out.

This is what I've done to troubleshoot:

1) pull off the output tube and try to pump; nothing happened, but water did drain out of the tube, seemingly indicating that the tube was not clogged. We operated fine on hookups.

2) pull off the inlet tube, and blew air into it and sucked water out with my mouth. Thus, that tube was not clogged, either.

3) reconnected pump and tried running it again again after we moved a few hundred miles to a new spot. Essentially, the "if I ignore it and shake it up a bit, it will fix itself" method. No luck.

So perhaps the pump is just dead, so I pulled it out and took it apart, but I can't see anything wrong with it. I'm not a pump tech, but the motor runs fine, no visibly torn seals, floating debris, etc.

I've looked a bit online, and have read many folks say these things just never die. So before I go out and buy a new pump, does anyone have any suggestions, either on what may be wrong or what new pump to get?

Thanks,
Dave

**commodor47** · 11-13-2008, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

The TM gods are working against us. Pulled out of a site with hookups, where it had dropped into the 20s two nights in a row. I did empty the water heater and the 2 drains under the shower. . . .

Dave,

I think the pump was filling the hot water heater, hence the reason you didn't get any water coming from the other appliances. Try filling the hot water heater via the street water hookup then check the operation of the water pump.

This link may help:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ght=water+pump

Dick

**ShrimpBurrito** · 11-13-2008, 08:37 AM

Good suggestion, Dick, but we filled up the heater the morning before we left, as we had running water at the hookup.

Dave

**Bill** · 11-13-2008, 11:27 AM

So to summarize:
1. You're at a site with no water hookup
2. The fresh water tank under the kitchen sink is full
3. The water heater is full
4. You can disconnect the inlet tube to the pump, and suck water out of it.
5. You replace the inlet tube, and pull the outlet tube off the pump. You switch on the pump, but no water comes out of the pump outlet.
6. The pump motor runs.

If all of the above is true, then the problem has to be in the pump - specifically the pumping end of the thing, not the motor.

You probably have a Series 2088 Classic pump. Shur-Flo sells a rebuild kit that includes all the seals and membranes.
http://www.shurflo.com/pages/RV/rv_c...es/repair.html
Unfortunately, the kit seems to be more expensive than a complete new pump - PPLMotorHomes wants $77 for the kit, and $75 for the entire pump! Any RV place will have the pump, and a big RV place might have the kit. Either is easy to install.

Bill

**ShrimpBurrito** · 11-13-2008, 11:39 AM

That's right, Bill. Alot easier to diagnose than my little GFI problem.

I called Shurflo, and they said I likely needed to replace the "Drive Housing" (not the motor) and the "Valve Assembly", as shown here. I priced them out at a few vendors, and they run about $50 total. Seems a tad pricey, considering I just bought a replacement pump for $67 delivered to my house from americanrvcompany.com. They are in the LA area, so it should get here tomorrow. For future reference, Shurflo pump 2088-422-444 (aka 2088-422-144 if installed by an OEM) is supposed to be an identical replacement for what TM installs.

Dave

Wavery · 11-13-2008, 11:56 AM

Did you check the pump strainer screen? It should be just on the inside of the pump intake side. It's just a little round wire screen.

I had a similar problem on my 2002 Coleman PU. The screen was completely clogged. I took it out, back flushed it and all was good with the world.

The other thing could be, if the pump is mounted higher than the water level in the tank, it could be sucking air from a pin hole in a hose.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 11-13-2008, 12:17 PM

I had read about a screen in the intake getting clogged, but mine doesn't have one, either in the connector attached to the hose or inside the pump itself. Weird. And I didn't see any blockage inside the pump housing when I took it apart.

Good thinking about an air leak in the hose, but I can pull a suction on it with my mouth, so that isn't it.

Dave

**wbmiller3** · 11-13-2008, 04:59 PM

I wonder if the impeller is loose on the shaft. You seem to be eliminating all the possibilities!

**ShrimpBurrito** · 11-13-2008, 06:38 PM

Actually, Bill, the pump is NOT an impeller design, which I think is why you can run them dry without damage. I read someplace that no part in the pump moves more than 1/8". It's difficult to explain, partly because I don't fully understand how it works, but the drive motor rotates inside a piece of plastic (#3 in the diagram above I referenced, on a bearing), such that this piece of plastic rocks side to side....probably by about 1/8" actually. This piece of plastic is snug up against another piece of plastic that has 3 chambers (#2 in the above diagram), and I think water is sucked into each chamber as the plastic rocks above it, and then is forced out when the plastic rocks back down on the chamber. Kinda reminds me of the human heart, actually.

Higher end pumps made by Shurflo and Flojet have 4 chambers, which supposedly reduces pulsing, noise, etc.

Dave

**wbmiller3** · 11-14-2008, 06:29 AM

Wow, I had no idea. Interesting!