Raw water pump impeller question.

[Daytomann]

Hey guys...I've got 71hrs on my 04 216 TE. I am going to change the oil this week and I'm going to take her out for the first time, this season, this weekend.
The PCM owners manual says to change the impeller every 50hrs or once a year.
My dealer ship wants to do it for $98/hr labor and they say it will take 3 hours worth of labor...I'm not a total cheapskate but thats still just too much to take it in for them to do it IMHO.

SO..I have a couple of questions.
***The boat has 71hrs on it, this will be the second full season of use (purchased at the end of 2004) Stored inside but not climate controlled.***

#1 Do I really NEED to change the impeller right now?

#2 If I should go ahead and change it, how hard is it to change and does anyone have any tips or know where I can find the instructions to do it? (I couldnt find anything in the PCM Maintenance Manual....for something that they say needs to be changed so often, I would think they would have it in the manual...) :???:

Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks!!

[Daytomann]

RE: Raw water pump impeller question.

Well (thank god for forums) I found the instructions here...
http://www.planetnautique.com/index....749&highlight=
But I'm still wondering if I should even change it this year...??
Any input?

[DRAGON88]

RE: Raw water pump impeller question.

What motor?

It takes about 5 minutes to change an impeller on my Excalibur. ( there are 3 8mm bolts on the water pump, you'll need to also loosen the belt. then the water pump should come apart and you should be able to take the impeller out of the water pump housing.)

IMO it's never a bad idea to replace the impeller for piece of mind. For 30 bucks it's worth not missing a day at the lake over it. Many people carry a spare in their boat just in case, I will say that my old 99 Sport went 3 years on one impeller once and never had a single problem.

[Flux]

RE: Raw water pump impeller question.

It was about a 1.5 hr job on my V-Drive, and should be a great deal easier on your D-Drive.

It is not hard at all, just pay attention to how it came apart and how you put it back together, Use some soap to lube it going in. This is one of those learn to DIY it things everyone with a boat should know how to do, like cleaning the strainer. you should also have a spare onboard as they can fall apart without warning.

I opened up mine on a whim before our first outing. It was missing 4 fins, but still worked. We probably had an hour or so left until we would have had to repair it on the lake, which is not where I like to do boat maintenance.

Buy two, replace the old one ASAP, and keep a spare on the boat.

[bkhallpass]

RE: Raw water pump impeller question.

Dayto,

3 hours is absurd on your boat. It's easy to get to, and easy to change. I could teach my 10 year old niece to do it in half an hour. I'm not averse to paying someone else for convenience, but that's just BS. Do it yourself. It's very easy. BKH

[AB]

Impellor

I have a '99 SN with 300 hours and am putting the first replacement in this year. I don't know anyone in my circle of 7 ski buds who replaces one every 50 hours and none of them have had a problem.

There are a few do's and don'ts that I always follow that will help impellor life:

Use anti-freeze every year for winterization, this helps lube it for the initial firing in Spring. Some folks just drain the block, if you do this, it is a good thing to disconnect the hose on top of the impellor and fill with antifreeze for lubrication purposes.

Don't dry start the boat on a trailer. I see people do this all the time, I guess to make sure the boat will start before they back in???

Don't blow the water out of the engine when you power up on a trailer.
to "clean" out the engine each time. This could leave the impellor dry for the next outing.

AB

[surroundsound64]

RE: Impellor

Change it. It's definately worth it. The last thing you want is for your engine temp light to come on and shut your engine off when your 30 miles from the ramp. hehe.

It's easy to do, as BKH said.

I soak mine in Castor Oil for 20 min before installing it. It soaks into the rubber and makes it last a little longer, or so I've found, and also makes it slide into the housing easier. I'd advise aginst soap becuase most of them will actually break down the rubber.

[TRBenj]

RE: Impellor

Changing the impeller on an '04 Excalibur should be fairly easy. I think they changed the design of the water pump so its easier than it was on the '02-03 Excaliburs. I see no need to change out the impeller every 50 hrs or every year, but I would have a spare on hand either way.

[Quinner]

05' 206 w/Excalibur I replaced it in less than 5 minutes, break loose 3 bolts on belt pulley, remove supentine belt, 3 bolts on impeller housing, very easy change.
The 206 impeller was bad after 1 year however with all my past boats the impellers typically were fine for at least 4 years, I always keep a spare on hand and check it in the spring, replacing every 50hrs seems a bit extreme to me also.

[G-man]

We just changed one on my friends 03 with 99hr's. It was missing 3 vanes and the rest were cracked. I think I'll do it every 2 years. We put them in with food grade silicone grease not spray on the shaft of the pump and on the vanes. They slide in like butter and they come out real easy.

[Rick]

Take the hour and change it. It is alot easier to change it now than it is to try to get all of the little pieces out of the engine.

[DavidF]

During the winter layup period, if you remove the impellar from teh RWP and put it on a shelf for next season, they last a really long time. Taking the impellar out, helps prevent the vanes from taking a set. I usually replace every 3-4 years, just to be safe, but the impellars always still look new. I keep one old impellar as a spare. I also recommend assembly using silicon grease. FWIW, I frequently dry start my engine for a few seconds at a time and have never seen any adverse effect on the impellar. Running the pump dry for just 2-3 seconds does not allow the impellar to heat up a get damaged IMHO, your mileage may vary. I have done this for years without ever experiencing RWP impellar issue.

[Daytomann]

Yep, even thought the boat has only 70 hours, being an 04 model which we bought late in 04, its technically a 2 year old impeller so it could be starting to wear by now. I'm going to go ahead and change it. Oh and I do have the Excalibur motor.
Thanks for all the input everyone!!!

[Daytomann]

Re: Impellor

I have a '99 SN with 300 hours and am putting the first replacement in this year. I don't know anyone in my circle of 7 ski buds who replaces one every 50 hours and none of them have had a problem.

There are a few do's and don'ts that I always follow that will help impellor life:

Use anti-freeze every year for winterization, this helps lube it for the initial firing in Spring. Some folks just drain the block, if you do this, it is a good thing to disconnect the hose on top of the impellor and fill with antifreeze for lubrication purposes.

Don't dry start the boat on a trailer. I see people do this all the time, I guess to make sure the boat will start before they back in???

Don't blow the water out of the engine when you power up on a trailer.
to "clean" out the engine each time. This could leave the impellor dry for the next outing.

AB

I've used antifreeze both winters.

I dont dry start the motor (I never start it on the trailer without a fake-a-lake)

I never blow the water out of the motor after pulling it up on the trailer.( I rinse it out every now and then with the fak-a-lake instead)

So it looks like I'm doing OK.
Thanks!

[Daytomann]

RE: Re: Impellor

Anyone know where I can order what I need online? My dealership quoted $50 for the impeller...sounds like they are getting out of line on their prices.