Head Mate Manual Pump Sprays Water on Flush Stroke

[rwilhite]

Hi folks. Here's my issue - I have a Head Mate by Willcox Crittenden in my 1996 Excel 26SE. This is a low-end head with a manual pump for flush and dry drain. It just started spraying water up past the pump handle shaft on the flush stroke - sea water, not bowl water. Seems obvious to me that there are some seals that need to be replaced and I have looked at getting one of the standard repair kits for this unit. However, those kits run about $60 (the whole toilet pump cost only $130) and before springing for it I want to make sure it will fix the problem. Anyone on this board have a similar problem in the past?

 

[Vic Willman]

All of those low end heads need to have a rebuild kit put into them every 3-5 years, sometimes more often than that. Considering that the head is 11 or 12 years old, you're way overdue! Your best bet at this point would probably be to purchase the complete pump assembly for it, as I feel fairly certain that some of the parts have worn over the past 10+ years. Plus, it's an easy swap; no need to take the pump apart to rebuild it.