Mercruiser new style raw water pump design flaw?

[Glass Seeker]

I checked a few threads and found others who have had the exact same problem with the new style pump getting the impeller stuck backwards. It has stranded me twice so far, happened when a driver just kind of bumped the key and did not hold it on a couple or three seconds resulting in a missed start and since it was compressing it reverse rotates a tiny bit and that gets the impeller to turn backwards and it becomes stuck. the first time I had to completely remove the pump and two very strong men could not turn it back by hand, I added some dawn soap and it finally popped back and reinstalled and worked until the same thing happened again. I am pretty sure this must be happening to alot of people and that it is a design flaw, I had the belt plenty tight, another poster said banjo tight, same here no loose belt...just a bad design causing this, has mercruiser come out and admitted/recalled these or are we all just stuck with "new improved design pumps" that are actually a down grade POS that will stick you out on the water sooner or later?

 

[Glass Seeker]

Re: Mercruiser new style raw water pump design flaw?

this is the pump in question

 

[Pete104]

Re: Mercruiser new style raw water pump design flaw?

That pump has been around too long to have a "design flaw".
Who's impeller are you using Or you changing the complete million dollar pump?
Idle, timing & belt tension!

 

[Glass Seeker]

Re: Mercruiser new style raw water pump design flaw?

That pump has not been around very long, I don't know when it was introduced but it is the current style that came on my 2011 Mercruiser 383 Stroker Mag EFI 350hp engine. It has an OEM Mercruiser impeller(unless they are using someone elses impellers?) that came in the $8500 package. It was easy to find other folks who have had the impellers stick in the pump and not be able to rotate it. So it's not just me.