RV Water Pump Leaking- Most Common Reasons and Solutions

Introduction

RV water pump leaking? Well, that certain leak is going to clear your tank out. And we won’t even get started on how worse it gets when you face an empty tank on road. 

In this hour of need, we wish to be a friend of yours and stand beside you. You might be wondering what we have to offer, right?

Well, we’ll help you find the reasons behind the water pump leaking and the solutions to it. 

You won’t need to go anywhere else once you’re done with this article. Because you’ll be ready for repair in no time. 

So, let’s check them out, shall we?

Reason Behind the Leak

The most common reason for the leak on an RV water pump is the defect of the check valve. 

You see, the check valve allows your water pump to control the main flow of water. That means that it allows the city water to enter the water tank of the RV and stops the flow when needed. 

Now, what actually happens mechanically when you’re facing a leak? 

Well, you sure will notice that whenever you’re turning the pump on, it shows you symptoms of troubleshooting. 

One minute it sucks for the water and the other minute it just makes noises. This indicates that there’s a leak inside the pump which unfortunately might be the crack of the check valve.

At first, some little movement might give you the hope of a fixed pump. But we kid you not, soon the leak will come back with bigger issues like a fully dysfunctional pump for you. 

RV Water Pump Leaking- Solutions On the Way!

Basically, you have two situations in hand today. And you need to decide which one you’re dealing with and take actions according to it. 

Luckily for you, we’ll describe both of the situations and both of the solutions so that you don’t need to take on any extra hassle today.

Here we go- 

Situation 1: Issue with the Check Valve

This is the situation that most people face when their check valve ages and crack. Here you would hear the pump getting on and off continuously. 

You might also hear the pump’s suction without the pump even taking any water in. All these issues take birth just because of an issue with the check valve.

List of the Items You Need:

• A new check valve
• Screwdriver 
• Teflon tape
• Dry towels
• Channel-lock pliers
• Electrical tape 

Repairing Process:

The repairing process for a faulty check valve might seem very complicated. But with the right guidance, it’s not rocket science anymore. 

Let’s do this-

1. Turn off the main water supply. You can’t just start your work with water flowing all around. There are electrical wires that might come in contact with the water and create an unwanted situation.
2. Cover the areas around the pump with dry towels. Especially around the electrical wires as we don’t want you to get electrocuted today.
3. Disconnect the electrical lines first and move the lines as far as you can from the pump.
4. Then, disconnect both the water pipes connected to the pump. Make sure that you are careful while removing them because we don’t want the pipes or the seats to crack.
5. Remove the pump from its place and bring out the check valve. Use a screwdriver if necessary.
6. Replace the older check valve with a new one. Make sure that you’re not using any excessive force at all. Because that might cause even the new valve to break.
7. Then, set the pump and set the water lines. You can use Teflon tape around the seats of the water lines. These help you increase the vacuum inside the water pump.
8. Connect the electrical lines with the motor. Use electrical tape for the wires so that they are not in the open.
9. Now turn on the switch and test the pump. If the suction is great, you’ll know it right away.

Situation 2: Issue with the Water Pump Itself

Sometimes, the leak issue with your water pump is the fault of the water pump itself. It might sound silly but trust us, we know what we are saying. 

When the whole mechanism of the water pump breaks down, that’s when it gets wild and you often need an immediate change of the water pump. 

List of the Items You Need:

• A new water pump
• Screwdriver 
• Teflon tape
• Dry towels
• Channel-lock pliers
• Plier
• Electrical tape

Repairing Process:

It’s more of an installation process as you’ll be placing a new water pump. However, as this process will fix your whole water supply, we can call it a repair today. 

So, let’s start the repair-

1. As usual, the first and foremost step is to turn off the main water supply so that you don’t spill water all around the RV.
2. Don’t forget the dry towels. This will stop water from getting in contact with the electric wires.
3. Electric lines around the water pumps that help you to operate the pump should be taken care of. These are the wires that we want to keep away from water.
4. Disconnect the water pipes from the pump using gentle force.
5. Take out the old water pump and place the new water pump in its place. Use a screwdriver to secure it in place.
6. Secure the water lines to the new water pump. Teflon tapes can come in handy for a better and sealed connection.
7. Connect the pump’s wires with the RV’s electrical wires to control the pump.
   However, make sure that you take away the upper layer of the wire a bit to have a better bond in the connection of wires. Secure the bond with electrical tape.
8. Now that everything is secure, it’s time to give the new pump a test drive. Turn it on and check for any leakage. If you’ve followed all the steps right, it’ll hopefully turn out all good.

Conclusion

There you go ladies and gentlemen, that’s all we had for you to get that RV water pump leaking stopped right away. 

If you can identify what’s causing you the issue, getting rid of the issue is easy peasy (as long as there’s a real solution).

So, find out the reasons and cure it before you have the time in hand today.