- Joined
- May 16, 2012
- Location
- Bloomington, MN.
I guess I don't have a lot of pictures to show for but I have a 1985 Champion and the previous owner said the bilge pump had a mind of its own and worked when it wanted to. I didn't think twice about it before I bought the boat but after the fact I came to realize the bilge pump didn't work at all.
Anyway I have found on this year, and similar years, that the bilge pump is pretty much located below the gas tank. You either have to remove the gas tank or you can simply disconnect the hoses and push it forward. At least on my boat the gas tank can be pushed forward. A note to self: before you disconnect anything from the gas tank I would first disconnect all the battery connections and tape up the open wires. If you have any gas in your tank a little might spill out and you don't need any sparks igniting gas.
Continuing I got the gas tank out of the way and found the bilge pump. Pulled it out and it seemed to be totally shot. I tried the quick route and went to Walmart to get one of their bilge pumps and I would recommend NOT doing this. They have a 800GPH pump but it works for crap. I returned that pump and replaced it with a 800GPH Attwood from Fleet Farm. It was only a couple dollars more but the quality is night and day. So I lucked out and all the wiring was in place so all I needed to do was actually replace the pump.
1 to 10 replacing the pump 10 being the hardest I would give it a 3. The hardest part is figuring out how to get the gas tank out of the way. I would say if you are looking at a older model Champion bass boat, and the bilge pump doesn't work, don't shy away. It ends up being pretty easy if it is just the pump and cheap!
Anyway here is a video I took of the pump working. You can't see the pump because it is under the gas tank but there is a piece of flooring, that is in front of the gas tank, that just lifts up. That is where I used to fill in some water.
Big thumbs up for the Attwood 800GPH bilge pump at Fleet Farm. $24.95 and it gets it done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVVMCE8RTB4&feature=youtu.be
Anyway I have found on this year, and similar years, that the bilge pump is pretty much located below the gas tank. You either have to remove the gas tank or you can simply disconnect the hoses and push it forward. At least on my boat the gas tank can be pushed forward. A note to self: before you disconnect anything from the gas tank I would first disconnect all the battery connections and tape up the open wires. If you have any gas in your tank a little might spill out and you don't need any sparks igniting gas.
Continuing I got the gas tank out of the way and found the bilge pump. Pulled it out and it seemed to be totally shot. I tried the quick route and went to Walmart to get one of their bilge pumps and I would recommend NOT doing this. They have a 800GPH pump but it works for crap. I returned that pump and replaced it with a 800GPH Attwood from Fleet Farm. It was only a couple dollars more but the quality is night and day. So I lucked out and all the wiring was in place so all I needed to do was actually replace the pump.
1 to 10 replacing the pump 10 being the hardest I would give it a 3. The hardest part is figuring out how to get the gas tank out of the way. I would say if you are looking at a older model Champion bass boat, and the bilge pump doesn't work, don't shy away. It ends up being pretty easy if it is just the pump and cheap!
Anyway here is a video I took of the pump working. You can't see the pump because it is under the gas tank but there is a piece of flooring, that is in front of the gas tank, that just lifts up. That is where I used to fill in some water.
Big thumbs up for the Attwood 800GPH bilge pump at Fleet Farm. $24.95 and it gets it done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVVMCE8RTB4&feature=youtu.be