Impeller advice/question

[chbailey]

Water stream is great. Pump and impeller have never been touched on a 97 'rude 50hp. Someone said that you should change the impeller every 100 hours. I don't have a good idea as to the hours on this motor but I suspect they are fairly low. I have not pulled the housing to check. What is the best way to go about dealing with the impeller?

 

[Xcusme]

Re: Impeller advice/question

Well, it's more than just how many hours are on the motor. The impeller takes a 'set' and reduces it's capacity to move cooling water. The best case is it continues to work, but for how long? The worst case, the impeller flies apart, broken pieces migrating into the power head clogging cooling passages. Ten years is a long time. Reset the clock, replace the impeller/pump and don't forget to grease the drive shaft splines upon reassembly.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Impeller advice/question

Running hours is not necessarily the gauge for whether or not an impeller should be changed. Age of the engine is. Your engine is 10 years old and the impeller is made of rubber. The question you need to answer then would be -- "is a relatively inexpensive rubber impeller worth burning down an engine for?" I think you know the answer. It may be working fine right now, but then it may fail an hour out from the dock. If you have a socket set and an assortment of common tools and are at least moderately handy, this is a do-it-yourself project, but it goes much easier if you have a service manual to guide you.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Impeller advice/question

Plus it depends on the conditions you run in. Sandy and silty water will kill an impeller lickity split!

 

[chbailey]

Re: Impeller advice/question

I guess that I pretty much knew this in a way. I just needed to have it confirmed. Guess I'll rip apart another piece of this motor for repair.