Aluminum Chunks around impeller

[johnrolf]

I had a pretty bad overheat this past weekend. I drifted trhough some shallow grassy water and picked up alot of grass around the prop. Ended up clogging the intake for the impeller and overheating. Ruined the impeller too. When I went to change the impeller, I noticed a small pile of aluminum chunks in the water pump in between a couple of the impeller vanes. The chunks of metal were about the size of bb's and smaller. Where in the heck did this metal come from? What kind of damage have I possibly done?

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Aluminum Chunks around impeller

check your lower unit. Is the oil still good or does it have water in it? If lower unit is good check the splines on your drive shaft. If lower unit is good it can only be coming from the motor. Did you test this with a magnet to verify that it is aluminum? What motor is this. Chrysler or force?

 

[johnrolf]

Re: Aluminum Chunks around impeller

The motor is a 35hp Chrysler. I'm pretty sure my l.u. is in good shape. Is it even possible for for anything to make it into the water pump housing from the l.u.? It is all sealed off. It seems that the only way anything can get into the water pump is through the water pump intake in the water, or from the copper water tube coming into the water pump from the power head. IT would almost have to have come from the motor. But what could these aluminum pieces be off of. Could the cooling jacket around the motor have broken up from overheating?

 

[johnrolf]

Re: Aluminum Chunks around impeller

Just went home and tried to get it cranked with no luck. The flywheel turns freely and it seems to have compression but it looks like one of the plug wires got melted. Not sure if it is good or bad. Hopefully I just need to tinker around a bit with the fuel lines and electrical to get her going again. It was running perfect before the overheat. It would crank right up with no struggle. I can't even get it to fire now.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Aluminum Chunks around impeller

The only way I can see that aluminum could get into your waterpump is you inhaled it from something in the water or the drive shaft seal under the waterpump is gone and you messed up your lower unit. Even if you blew out the crank case there is a metal plate separated by exhaust gaskets between the motor and the cooling system. Look closely at the splines on the upper part of the driveshaft. IF they are okay my guess is you sucked this in from the lake. The only other thing would be where the drive shaft hooks up to the powerhead. Maybe one of those splines broke. Is is possible that this metal is the waterpump key and it broke somehow?

 

[BF]

Re: Aluminum Chunks around impeller

any chance it's metal from 1) the inside of the impeller 2) from the plate the impeller sits on or 3) from the edge of the water pump houseing (around the driveshaft)? When water pump went dry and impeller melted, maybe things got so hot as to make the metal bits within the water pump soften enough that a metal edge of the melting impeller "peeled" a bit of metal off... If the rubber was melted, maybe there was metal to metal contact (impeller center to housing or plate) that normally doesn't happen...<br /><br />just a guess.