General CW1541

[tdlconceptsllc]

I have a CW1541 General pump and noticed this morning after washing 110 cars in one day that its leaking directly behind the Pulley. I was thinking its maybe the oil seal and how hard is this job to do after taking off the pulley and what oil do you guys run weight wise from general? Thanks .. O i went to general.com found a diagram and the part number for this oil seal is 90.1672 I was also thinking it may be the shim leaking too #76.2200.78 its on a LW4000 thanks for advice never worked on this style just cats 3535

 

[MEP001]

It's pretty straightforward, you just take the pulley off and remove the cover with the seal in it, knock out and replace the seal, and change the o-ring in the cover if you think it might be leaking. Make sure when you put the cover back on that the seal slips over the shaft and doesn't flip the lip of the seal out.

Non-detergent 30WT is fine for General pumps.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

MEP001 Thanks alot sir you the man. just never messed with general pumps alot. thanks

 

[ICEMAN]

usually when a pump leaks oil from an oil seal it is a sign of drive end issues. If it were me I would look for play in the shaft indicating bad bearings. This is a common problem in the cw1541. Oil seals do not usually fail unless something is wearing on them.

 

[MEP001]

usually when a pump leaks oil from an oil seal it is a sign of drive end issues. If it were me I would look for play in the shaft indicating bad bearings. This is a common problem in the cw1541. Oil seals do not usually fail unless something is wearing on them.

I've worked on thousands of General pumps and my experience is contrary to your information. The drive end is their strongest point and rarely has issues, especially with the bearings. Oil seal leaks are very common with General pumps, even with new pumps.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

I hope it not the bearings going bad on a general diagram looks like you would have to tear down both heads and all connecting rods on the crankshaft that would be a big job I am praying it's not

 

[MEP001]

It's highly unlikely the bearings are bad.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

thanks alot for help

 

[ICEMAN]

tdl
does your oil look milky. If the oil is milky it is water in the oil. The usual progression leading to plunger pump failure goes like this. Operators don't change oil regularly, there low pressure seal fails which does not always result in pressure drop and they get water in the crankcase. This in turn goes to work on the drive end causing bearing failure which will ultimately lead to connecting rod problems and so on. The operator never notices a problem till something bad happens. This is why i say a leaking oil seal would be a red flag to me. I am not saying ignore others advise here but putting on a band aid (oil seal) may lead to other problems. Check for play in shaft or connecting rods. I also think general has discontinued the CW1541.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

Yes they stoped making this pump I just don't wanna take both dual heads off just to check for play in the conecting rods But my oil looks good but I think you have a good assumption it probably does have bad bearings thanks a lot may need to replace soon but I am gonna Run it till it dies

 

[ICEMAN]

I think it was replaced by the HTCK4050S. Why not fix it , seems like a wasted 3000.00 not to.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Used 3535 Cats seem to be a dime a dozen. If you can swap in one of those you would be many $$$ ahead.

 

[mjwalsh]

Yes they stoped making this pump I just don't wanna take both dual heads off just to check for play in the conecting rods But my oil looks good but I think you have a good assumption it probably does have bad bearings thanks a lot may need to replace soon but I am gonna Run it till it dies

Just a thought ... I am not an expert on these specific pumps ... but it seem like the noise level will also give a clue to the condition of the bearings.

mike king koin

 

[MEP001]

Once you take the belts off, you should be able to turn the pulley back and forth at several rotational points and feel for loose connecting rods and listen for bearing noise. As ICEMAN said, water in the oil can be a problem and can damage the crankcase parts, but if the oil is clear and the pulley turns smooth and quiet it's probably okay.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

ok thanks MEP001 for all these pointer we will see in several days when oil seal comes in what I find thanks very helpful

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

I installed oil seal yesterday MEP001 everything worked out good relitively easy job. The oil looked really good no metal no play in crankshaft bearings where smooth, thanks alot for the tips.