Replacing a ShurFlo pump in a Pollensa

Replacing a ShurFlo water pump on an AutoSleeper Pollensa

Don’t do as I did, do as I say.

On a forum I was advised that the water pump is inboard of the Carver Cascade water heater so that has to be removed first. I had previously renewed the burner in the heater so that particular job didn’t need doing. I removed all the screws holding the flue housing and the actual boiler and pulled the boiler away from the body. Then I undid the jubilee clips on the two water hoses and with great difficulty separated the hoses from the boiler. Next I tried to remove the gas supply pipe but it was stuck in with Calor red gas seal paste and refused to separate. I cut the gas pipe and using Mole grips eventually got the stub out of the gas inlet. A trip to the caravan spares shop for a new 8mm olive became necessary. Actually as I was going to change the pump, this didn’t alter events much. Pulling the boiler away from the body, I was able to remove the electrical connector and wires.

All the above was completely unnecessary as even with the boiler out, and the gas pipe cut, the water pump was inaccessible meaning it had to be got at from inside the habitation area. So this is what you should do:

Tools required:
Long Pozi No.2 screwdriver, preferably also a battery powered screwdriver.
Flat blade screwdriver
Junior hacksaw
Wire strippers and cutters
Small tub to keep screws and other removed parts in.
Two Wago two-way wiring connectors. These are light years ahead in design and quality from any of the alternative methods of joining wires.

Drain the fresh water tank, and the hot water from the Carver Cascade water heater. Turn on the main electric panel switch, and also the water pump switch and open some taps to empty the water pipes. When all the water has been pumped out, turn off the pump switch and the 12volt main electrical control panel switch.
Remove the vertical backrest and store it out of the way.
Release the retaining catch and slide the forward facing sofa seat forward (towards the cab area)
Remove anything in the storage compartment and store it out of the way
Lie underneath and remove 4 screws holding the seat to the sliders. There are two screws per slider, one at each end. If you can’t see or feel the screws it may be that the slider is covering the screw. You will find that the slider can be moved to and fro easily with a finger to reveal the screws if necessary.
Remove the seat base and store it out of the way.
You  will see a box covered in carpet (mine is green) which is covering the Carver Cascade water heater, and the ShurFlo water pump. Remove three No2 Pozi screws securing the horizontal carpet-covered plywood panel to the vertical panel. These are hidden in the carpet and will need to be found by poking around with a screwdriver.
Remove two screws in brackets holding the vertical panel to the floor.
At this point you cannot lift the horizontal panel out because the seat retaining catch mechanism prevents it. Using two 10mm spanners remove the seat retaining catch mechanism, and the swivel lever which will require the deft manipulation of a wide, flat blade screwdriver to remove the retaining star washer without snapping it. Keep the parts safe in a tub with the screws you have previously removed.
 Lift out the horizontal panel. Now you can see the water pump, which is held in place by four No.2 Pozi screws which need to be removed. A long screwdriver is needed to get past the seat frame. If you have a magnetised screwdriver, it will be a lot easier to replace the screws when fitting the new pump as you probably cannot put all the screws in position with your hands.
 Twist and pull at the motor to lift it up, and unscrew the water connectors. They should be relatively removable as their plastic does not corrode and stick.
 Cut the wires feeding the pump - on my Pollensa the positive feed wire from the habitation electrics is blue, and black is negative. (see photo). The feed wires from the habitation wiring will need to be connected to the pump of course and the best way is to strip 8 - 10mm of insulation off each wire and insert the ends into Wago connectors. Without going into Ohm’s law, take it from me that those awful blue Skotchlok connectors have only one use: that is to take up space in your waste bin. They drop volts and limit current, neither of which is good for the pump, which takes about five amps. The screw-block plastic connectors are marginally better but they cut the conductors in the wire when the screw is tightened, and then they go rusty. Rust does not conduct electricity. The crimp connectors firstly require a ratcheting tool which won’t release until maximum clamp has been reached, and even then it is frequently possible to pull the wire out of the connector. Soldering and insulating is good, but the heat of the hot soldering iron can be a bit of a nuisance when the tool tries to solder your hand, so I don’t recommend that. Also an old motorhome has a lot more flammable parts than is currently permitted and your insurance company won’t thank you for a claim.
 A bit about Wago connectors: see photo.



In the photo you can see a blue wire connected to the red wire which goes to the pump. Wago connectors can accommodate several different sizes of wire into one connector. They are very high quality, have very low contact resistance, very strong physical wire retention and the voltage on each connection can be measured using a multimeter probe through a small hole in the connector.
To connect wires using Wago connectors, having stripped 8 - 10mm of insulation off the wire, lift the orange tab away from the block, and it latches in the open position. Push the wire into the slot and snap the orange tab back down. No matter how hard you try to pull the wire away from the connector, you cannot. The wire will break before it comes out of the connector. When you have pushed the wire into the Wago block, because it is transparent you can see that the wire has been gripped properly when the orange lever is snapped down. Wago connectors are available from your local electrical factor, and on line. However make sure you get the genuine Wago connectors, not the Chinese copies which fail in many regards.
14) Having wired the pump, screwed in a new strainer and connected the water pipes, fill the fresh water tank. Turn on the electric supply and open a tap and check the pump is working properly, and that there are no leaks around it. Check the tightness of the jubilee clips and that there are no water leaks.
15) Refit the vertical storage area panel fixing it to the floor using the original holes as a guide.
16) Refit the catch mechanism on the frame.
17) Take the horizontal panel and mark where you need to cut it in order for it to bypass the catch mechanism. Cut the plywood, and then the panel will slide neatly into position and you can replace the three screws that hold it to the vertical panel. There is no strength lost by cutting this small slot into the plywood.
18) Refit the seat base on to the runners. Lie once again on the floor and looking upwards push a screw up through the runner and manipulate the seat base so that the screw will return into the hole that it came out of. If your motorhome is 25  years old like mine there will be marks where the old screws have cut into the seat fabric so making it easier to replace the seat base accurately.
19) Check that the seat slides back and forth and that the retaining catch works correctly.
20) Replace the seat back. Sit on the seat and hope that your loving assistant has by now brought you something liquid to drink.

1356 words. Just in case I ever wanted to know . . . .

Heads up to you for your persistence. After the debacle of changing the pump in our Duetto lying on the floor with my arm at full stretch under the cooker I wished a thousand curses on Autosleeper.
But when the same job came up in the Rienza I was braced for a battle only to find the pump under the wardrobe fasten to the shower wall. Once I figured out getting the floor out it was a relief to get it sorted without too much agro.
The fitting position in the Pollnsa sounds a nightmare. When I helped my naibor fit a pump to his Corinium we fitted it were it could be seen and worked on by just lifting a seat base. Motorhome builders don’t care about future repairs hoping any faults will occur after warranty.