I am looking to replace my impeller and housing on my old 135 and got to thinking about the rubber impeller design that is used on pretty much all outboards. There must be a reason companies are still using the rubber impellers but has anyone heard of a water pump that does not fail so easily? I know some will say to simply not dry start it, but I have never dry started this engine. While doing some carb maintenance I hooked up the muffs and garden hose and ran it. Well the (replaced last year) impeller cooked itself. Here's my question: are rubber impellers the best they can do? It seems to me that a teflon vane pump, similar to a hydraulic vane pump with sliding vanes, would outlast the rubber vanes. There is no flex to speak of on the teflon vanes but that would not matter if the vanes are slung out by centrifugal force anyway. The only downside I can see is it ingesting crud and imbedding debris in the vanes and gouging the housing. Just a wonder going on but some of y'all may have more experience that me.