Mud in water pump area - lower unit

[Appalachian_Angler]

I went to change the impeller and found the area around the entire water pump housing to be quite dirty. Is this normal? If not, what issues might I have?


And how how often do you change the entire housing vs just the impeller and gaskets?

very new to boat maintenance, thanks for any responses!

 

[Appalachian_Angler]

More pics

 

[Scott Danforth]

impeller should be every few years. whole system when the pump shows grooves from the impeller.

 

[Appalachian_Angler]

Thanks Scott - do you see grooves in my pictures? Where should I be looking? I personally didn't see anything like that. And is it usually that dirty when you open it up? Thanks again.

 

[Bondo]

And is it usually that dirty when you open it up?

Ayuh,..... If ya ran it through mud, yer gonna find mud,.....

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you were missing the plastic plug above the anode, the lower will fill with mud and insects.

as for the groove, you have the pieces there, look. if you see any line that you can catch a fingernail on, then replace the whole assembly. if you have any doubt, replace the whole assembly.