Replacement bilge pump for 2004 Pathfinder 2200V

[MassJawbreaker]

My bilge finally died on my 2004 2200V and I'm going to need to do the dreaded replacement. The one I had was the old style Rule-Mate 1100 GPH. I would intermittently have issues with the auto-bilge not shutting off. The new version of that pump is available locally, but the reviews on some other sites look pretty bad. Any opinions/options?

Also I'm probably going to need to open up the size of the access area. Any opinions on larger rectangular hatches to replace the original small round hatch?

Thanks

[fin-addict]

My 03 2200v had a Sahara 1100. Had it changed out a few years back. Was a good pump. Changing out the pie plate would be a good start. Many do it.

[jh141]

Second on the Sahara 1100. Have had no problems with mine for ten years. It still works great. I release the pump from the base (depress the two little blue squares) and rinse it clean every six mouths or so. I also put the water hose in the bilge every trip as part of my post trip clean up the test the switch and run the pump.

My 2012 2200 came with a larger oval hatch thank goodness. Just big enough to remotely release the pump from the base and lift the pump up to clean and inspect.

Wear long sleeves or rent a trained monkey. LOL  

[Bamaskeet]

My understanding is that the screw holes are the same for the new style Rule pumps compared to your old style but you are going to have to change out the basket.

Yes, you are going to have to enlarge  the hatch in your slash well.  TH Marine makes one, as does Armstrong that will fit.

[rckeat]

On 9/3/2022 at 6:56 AM, Bamaskeet said:

My understanding is that the screw holes are the same for the new style Rule pumps compared to your old style but you are going to have to change out the basket.

That was my experience.  It was such a joy trying to unscrew the original and replace it with the new one.

[wrhatt]

Good luck. It's not a fun job. I needed a larger hatch and extra hands to replace the pump.

[smilemaker]

You don't  realize how  good you really have it. Try changing the pump in an 04  2200TE.

[MassJawbreaker]

Thanks for all the feedback. Man this was a real pain in the ***. I wound up getting the Rule-Mate 1100 since my intention was to put it in the same spot with the same screws. Two basket holes do line up. And I wanted to give it a shot replacing it with the original round access hatch before I cut out the splash well.

With a lot of blind feeling around I was able to snap the old pump out of the strainer basket, disconnect the hose with a socket wrench, and unscrew the small screws that held strainer basket to the hull. So step one only took me an hour. 

Then I tried to install the new strainer basket. The way my old one was mounted, it was literally in the farthest bow-facing corner of the mounting block you could get. I could barely reach it. After an hour of stumbling around with that idea, I realized there was no way I was going to get those tiny screws back in the same holes – blind, with one hand.

Next I tried to pre-drill new holes closer within reach. But there was no room to fit my drill down there.

So I saw another post on the forum where someone mounted it using an old aluminum ruler. I had a busted T-Square so I used that. Did a bit of measuring to get the bends right. Drilled some holes in it to mount the basket onto the t-square with heavy duty zip ties and wedged the rig down against the hull floor. I removed one of the access panel lid screws and replaced it with a stainless nut/bolt and used that to secure the top of the ruler to the bottom of the splash well so it won't move.

The concept is OK, but there's a major chicken/egg issue with getting the pump into the strainer basket. You can't get it into the basket and then put on the hose. And you have almost no flexibility/room working the pump into the basket with the hose on the pump. But that's what I wound up doing. It took me about 3 hours to mount the hose and then wiggle that into the strainer basket. Lots of cursing and taking sanity breaks. 

It's a pretty janky rig overall but I think it will do. The ruler idea is OK, but it's honestly not going to save a ton of effort in replacing it again. Removing it won't be hard, but getting another one back into that hellhole will still be a pain. I honestly don't think I would have gained a whole lot of help by replacing the splash well hatch but I'm sure it wouldn't have hurt.