Fresh water foot pump (Whale) leaking

josrulz · #1 (**permalink**) 05-17-2009

Hey everyone,
In the course of sailing our boat home, we discovered we had a leak in our fresh water system. When we found water coming into the bilge, imagine how happy we were to realize it was coming from inside the boat and not outside!

Anyway, it turns out the foot pump in the head was leaking. It's a Whale Gusher Mk II (I assume no longer available). The leak appears to be coming from where the foot lever enters the casing of the pump (on the bottom of the pump).

How do I determine if a new pump is required, or if the rebuild kit will do the trick? I didn't see any obvious cracks in the casing, but I haven't taken it apart yet. Thanks for your help!
-J

sailingdog · #2 (**permalink**) 05-17-2009

Chances are likely, you have a torn diaphragm, since the foot lever is attached to one IIRC.

downeast450 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-18-2009

I had a similar problem last spring. I purchased the rebuild kit and installed it with great care. It did not solve the problem. I am now installing the new, replacement foot pump that I should have purchased originally. If your time is worth anything, buy the new pump.

Tundra Down

josrulz · #4 (**permalink**) 05-18-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Chances are likely, you have a torn diaphragm, since the foot lever is attached to one IIRC.

You're probably right, sailingdog. I might just open up the thing and see if I can find an obvious cause first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by downeast450

I had a similar problem last spring. I purchased the rebuild kit and installed it with great care. It did not solve the problem. I am now installing the new, replacement foot pump that I should have purchased originally. If your time is worth anything, buy the new pump.

Tundra Down

Quick question--did you replace a MkII foot pump with a MkIII? If so, were the mounts in the same location or did you have to drill new holes, modify the mount, etc?

sailingdog · #5 (**permalink**) 05-18-2009

Taking the pump out and opening it up will tell you where the problem lies... without doing that, anything else is guessing...and you'd have to do that to replace it or rebuild it... so that should be your first step.