Water impeller yearly change?

[Bryan Craft]

I don't know if any of you remember, but I was the one having the H2O psi alarm going off. Well it started going off when I would throttle up the motor to get on plane. I took it in today and the mechanic replaced the impeller, costing me $106.



That is not the reason for my post. The mechanic told me the impeller is something that should be changed yearly!! I don

 

[Texas Transplant]

Others here will have better info, but I know that Merc had the impeller replacement listed as part of the 50 hour check. Sounds reasonable, as it is the primary key to keeping that baby cool when running.



Anyone here know what the difficulty is of changing an impeller on a Merc? Someone want to do a grab bag on it?



Tex

 

[Dave Muniz]

WARNING!!! This is just MY opinion.



I believe if you have a water pressure guage and are getting good pressure and a good stream out the pee hole, I think you can go 2-3 yrs on an impeller. Any change in PSI I would change the impeller.



If you don't have a pressure guage it's cheap insurance to change it every 1-2 yrs.



Don't know about Mercs. but it was pretty easy to change on my evinrude.



Let the flames begin.



Dave

 

[Donnie Matney]

TT. I changed my Mariner 40 in the spring....on a scale of 1 to 10 it is about a 8. May be a little more difficult for a larger HP motor. I would not pay more than $20 extra for someone do it, but that is just me. The first time is always the hardest. LOL After that it is a piece of cake. TT shoot me a email and I will go further. Also Bass Boat Central has a REALLY GOOd step by step(this is what I used). I belive its 95 percent the same process from motor to motor.



Donnie

 

[Jim B]

I change mine every season. For the 30 bucks the kit costs and the hour of my time its worth it to not blow a $3k powerhead. on the merc its really not a hard job to do, you just need to drop off the lower unit, take off the housing and replace the impeller and the gaskets. Having a good service manual is key when doing something like this.



Tex i have also done them on my old evinrude intruler like yours, it is a little harder die to the bolt they use on the shift linkage. omc was very nice and buried itu nder the carbs mabye next pring then i do mine i can document it for the grab bag.

 

[Bryan Fary]

jim, where did you get your service manual?

 

[Jim B]

Bryan i got mine from a merc dealer, i had them order the real merc service manual for me. I dont remember whet it cost but it wasnt cheap.

 

[Corey Carrico2]

My mechanic told me two years is probably safe for the amount I use the boat. He also did say that as it sits over winter it could dry rot and fail prematurly. They do not charge me much extra during the yearly tune-up to swap it so unless the price changes I will continue to have them do it yearly....don't want to have to buy another motor unless it is attached to a new bigger boat!

 

[Not_Scott S.]

Without a doubt...do it yourself next time!!!! It's an easy job, and $18 is much nicer than $106.



This link is an excellent step by step guide to replacing your impeller (complete with pics!!): http://www.bassboatcentral.com/sttips.htm With no outboard knowledge I did it no problem on my 150 EFI. 1st time for me took about 1 hour. I now do it in under 30 mins. Well worth taking the time to know how it's done. The savings over the years will be substantial. If you're the least bit mechanically inclined this is a piece of cake. Just don't overtighten the pump housing like I did (ended up buying another). I'd be happy to help if you have any questions. Good luck!

 

[James D.]

change it every year. then ya don't have to worry about it and it won't go out on you when your out fishing. i hate down time during the season. it can't hurt to change it every year and you will be sure that the engine is getting maximum cooling and maximum water flow.



jd