Steve-
I have a jabsco pump on my W50, but I have seen the Sherwood pump also. Visually, it appears to me that the Jabsco is more robust - but an unsubstantiated judgment. My experience is that its better to replace the entire pump, if you start getting seal leakage. That leakage is normally caused by shaft wobble, which means the shaft bearings are shot. The bearing/shaft and seal kit costs almost as much as a new pump bought online (not from Westerbeke). I bought my last pump for about $300; the seals and shaft/bearing kit cost almost as much. I have over 250 hrs on my last pump, and so far so good. I replace the impellor each season as a preventive measure, and have not had any impellor failures, so I can't help you there.
If you decide to switch from a Sherwood pump to a Jabsco pump, you may need to get a new shaft pulley. The shaft on the Sherwood pump I saw had a smaller diameter shaft.
Jim #191
_________________ Jim Voelxen Odyssey #191 Home Port: Osterville, MA
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