water pump issues in 150 optimax?

[judge mike]

2003 Mercury 150hp 2 cycle salt water engine. 180 hours. I store this boat in southern Florida and use it only a dozen times a year. I have replaced the impeller 2 times and the water pump once. When in use the engine gives off an ouerheating beep. If I put it in neutral and give it gas it sometimes stops and is ok the rest of the trip. This last time the beep was continuous except at no wake speeds. My mechanic told me water pumps need to be replaced almost every year because the boat is seldom used and stored outside in the Florida heat. He charges $700. so I can't say he is not biased. Is he right or is my overheating problem caused by something else?

 

[m casey stock]

Re: water pump issues in 150 optimax?

My 2001 150 is experiencing the same type of issue, I've been told to change my water pump and it would solve the problem. I'll be doing that myself this weekend (it's not a difficult thing to do yourself) Has changing your pump or impeller solved your problem in the past? I have not changed mine since I've owned it, but I've only had it for a little over a year. I have no idea when it was changed last, so I figure it needs to be changed anyway. My boat was a Florida boat for most of it's life and now it is mostly run in the Gulf shores/Orange Beach area, so pretty much the same type of weather and water conditions as yourself. It did fine last year and after sitting all winter started this problem the first outing this year. I think the salt, even though I flush mine with fresh water if it is going to sit for any length of time, causes the rubber impeller to stick and cause damage to it. Sitting is hard on anything for a number of reasons and I feel this may be what is our problem. As you know, the salt is even in the air any anything that is unprotected will corrode even if the salt is washed off. Here is a video on how to install a impeller kit in your water pump. HOW TO REPLACE WATER PUMP "MERCURY 150 OUTBOARD" - YouTube If you want to save that $700.00 expense each year. I'm going to look into the possibility of spraying something into my water intake each down season to protect the raw metal that the impeller rubs against during normal operation. I don't know if that is even possible and I figure if it is, one would still need to be sure to use something that will not soften or deteriorate the rubber impeller. Maybe we just need to run our boats more during the off season to keep the water pump innards all polished up , kind of like the rotors on the brakes of your car, if it sits for long, they will start to rust over, but if you drive it regular the will stay shinny and polished. I don't know, just a thought.

 

[sidenberg]

Re: water pump issues in 150 optimax?

$700 to replace the water pump on this motor is absurd. $300 is more like it. It is very easy to replace a water pump yourself. Buy the whole kit,, around $50, and replace all the parts, gaskets, plate, etc each time. The 2000 and 2001 Optimax should be replaced every year.