Did i ruin my impeller?

[militaryboating]

I have a 5.0 murcruiser V-8 I/O. I just bought my first boat and made the mistake of letting it run in the driveway without water, but it was only for about 30 seconds. Then i did it again (after about 2 hours) but i didnt have one of those things you hook the water hose to, so i just put the water hose right on the water intake. What are the chances i didnt ruin the impeller? How do i check to see if its ruined? Im going after work today to buy the corrct piece you took the water hose to so i wont ever do that again. im pretty mechanical inclined. is it hard to pull the foot off and look at the impeller to see how bad it is? about how long does it take? are there any special tools required? Is there any chance the water pump is ruined? If anyone could help me out it would be awesome. Thanks in advance!

Dustin

 

[Aviator5]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

the chance that impeller is ruined - 99.9 percent.

 

[bigskiohio]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

Ther is a chance it is okay but you probably need to change it anyways as you dont know when it was last changed . Mine cooled okay but i thought i might aas well check it and one fin was completely broken off and stuck i the opening. if you run it and it doesn't overheat or get above 150 0n muffs at idle and 180 on the water you are good but will need looked at sooner or later.Not that bad to replace pull the whole out drive off 15 min.
and you can check your alignment with a bar - ebay $40.00
new pump 40.00-100.00 matters where you buy it got mine here on iboats for 45.00 complete. download the manuals here and read up and if you need step by step post again and i and others will help you.

 

[ken_23434]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

The Adult's Only sticky at the top of the forum has links to download the genuine Mercruiser Service Manuals. Download the one you need for your engine and drive and read up on the stuff.

You did not mention what year or model of drive you have.

Assuming it is an Alpha-1 Drive, there are no special tools needed. I think it is a total of 7 bolts you need to loosen/remove to remove the gear housing (that's where the water pump is). No need to pull the entire outdrive just for the water pump. Although, pulling the whole outdrive to check engine alignment, grease u-joints, check/replace the bellows is good maintenance practice.

The water pump rebuild kit I bought a few weeks ago cost about $60 at the dealership (it had the upper pump housing included, you can also get it with impeller and gaskets only).

You will need some Outdrive Fluid (get 2 quarts), since you have to drain it to do this job (or it will spill out anyways). Get the pump that mounts to the quart bottle to help you pump it back into the drive when you are finished.

The manual also recommends using Mercruiser 2-4-C (water proof grease) and Mercruiser Perfect Seal (gooey stuff that never dries out and helps keep o-rings in good condition).

To remove the Trim tab, you will need a 3/8" allen wrench. To reach, it will need to be about 3" long. Otherwise, it's all 5/8" socket or wrench and one other allen wrench (smaller than the previous, don't remember the size).

The job is not too bad. I think it is recommended to replace the impeller every 1 or 2 years anyways. So, I would recommend replacing it even if you did not do damage to it.

 

[militaryboating]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

it is a alpha 1 outdrive. I know the outdrive was completely re-built right before last summer (the guy i bought it from only took it out once or twice since) and he replaced the water pump right before i bought it. and i have only taken it out once. should i just hook the muffs and water up to it tonight and see if it overheats? or should i pull everything to see how it looks? if i should pull everything should i start with the impeller or waterpump?

 

[Intune]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

Change it. You know its history but you sure know at least what you did to it. :redface: I'm a happy camper when my "I didn't know's" only cost $100 or less!

I just changed mine & it's no prob with the awesome downloads available on this site. BUT... If you go straight to the impeller/water pump section of the manual & bust some ratchets out, STOP! Reach about halfway up the front of the lower unit & you will feel/see a thin tube. This is the speedo tube. Disconnect it. It will tell you how a few pages up in the "Removing Lower Unit" section.

I wasn't removing the lower unit but I was dang sure buying a new connector. :redface:

There, I saved you $10 off the gitgo. Have fun!

Edit: It's probably just the impeller not the WP.

 

[ken_23434]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

The kit that includes the upper half of the water pump would cover all your parts needed. The kit that does not include the upper half would do, as long as the insert in the upper half of the pump is OK.

You could pull it apart and take a look at how the pump housing looks and decide if it is an impeller only situation.

The safe route (possibly wasting a few bucks) will be to get the kit with the pump housing.

The impeller might be OK, but if it's not, you will like find that out when you are far away from the dock and suddenly have an overheated engine. I like to err on the side of being conservative/safe.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

You screwed up.Change the pump.If it ran for 30 seconds it could have melted the housing.Then you did it again.
You have no idea what's in there so fix it.
Drop the lower and replace the whole pump.J

 

[madurodave]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

better to be safe than sorry. I replaced mine when I bought it, just to be sure. The alternative is an over heated engine and this easy repair is worth the effort.

I did have a few small issues so make sure you do exactly as the manual states.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

here's a pretty good s/b on what takes place when ya run'em dry...
http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Bullet/87/87_14.pdf

look at page 2...

 

[militaryboating]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

thanks for the help everyone. i think when i get home tonight im going to pull everything and look at the impeller. if anyone has any other advice or some helpful hints on how to do it it would be appreciated.

If the impeller looks good should i worry about the water pump? or should i be worried about both equally? Should i go home and hook water to it and see how it runs or would I be doing more damage? I dont want to replace something if its good. so can i hook water to it and see if it overheats? or would i be rolling the dice on if the impeller has broken apart?

What kind of sealant will i need to seal everything back up after im done looking at the impeller? will i need any seals? any information will be helpful as i have never done this before!

Also, if i hook water to it and it gives a good constant stream doesnt that mean the water pump is still good? or could it still be having problems?

 

[ziggy]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

best thing to do at this point is go get your service manual from the adults only sticky at the top of the i/o fourm. look at #9 and choose your poison. for sure ya'll want s/m #6 for the alpha1 drive.
in the s/m's you'll find all the whys and wherefores you need to properly service the impeller. and anything else for that matter.

 

[rad1026]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

Here's a pic of mine after running about 15 seconds with no water hooked up. Lack of communication between me and my son. Oh well. Change the impeller, housing, get the whole kit. Its not that big a deal and you won't regret it. Have you downloaded the manual yet? Read up on it, then dig in. If you have questions you will get plenty of help here. Really, as a new owner of this boat it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the amount of maintenance that has been done. Pull the drive and see if there is any water in the u-joint bellow. Inspect the Gimbal bearing, u-joints and yoke. Take a flashlight and look at the splines on the engine coupler. Buy an alignment tool. Drain the gear oil. Replace the impeller. Check the engine alignment. Then when you get it all back together you will feel good about taking you and your friends or family out on the water.

 

[militaryboating]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

what kind of price tag am i looking replacing the impeller and housing?

 

[PitchFork]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

new pump 40.00-100.00 matters where you buy it got mine here on iboats for 45.00 complete. download the manuals here and read up and if you need step by step post again and i and others will help you.

$45 on iBoats Store as someone posted earlier

 

[rad1026]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...&gd_poid=110876&gd_row=3&**********=016271999

http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...&gd_poid=110837&gd_row=3&**********=016271999

New outdrive gasket set about $8.00
Gear oil, $20
Alignment tool $40-75 depending on where you get it

Can be done for less then $100, depending on how much beer you consume while wrenching

 

[PitchFork]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

From what I understand is it can be done without pulling the drive but you still need to drain the gear lube. Cost would be only $18 + gear lube $20.

But since the boat is new to you I would pull the drive only 8 nuts to loosen and check alignment (alignment bar needed eBay $40), the check the U-Joints for any binding (New ones on eBay seller JHall $24), and the gimble bearing for smooth turning.

 

[ken_23434]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

The alignment bar and outdrive gasket set are not required if you are only doing the water pump.

They would be needed if you decide to inspect the u-joint bellow, gimbal bearing and engine alignment.

 

[saltlydawg]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

Get the replacement parts and replace them per the manual. If you are going through the exercise of pulling it apart and changing the gear oil in the process for an inspection, you might as well have the parts on hand to change the pump. I have yet to see one survive a dry start.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Did i ruin my impeller?

the chance that impeller is ruined - 99.9 percent.

^^^^^^^^