water pump impeller

[scottb7]

yep, infinity is right. pretty easy. i have same motor...but he forgot to say you gotta take of the engine cover... which is designed for crap with 2 studs at the bottom facing down, easy to take off hard to get back on...i just leave mine off.

[Infinity]

yep, infinity is right. pretty easy. i have same motor...but he forgot to say you gotta take of the engine cover... which is designed for crap with 2 studs at the bottom facing down, easy to take off hard to get back on...i just leave mine off.

Your right, I forgot to mention cause I leave mine off too for the same reason. I assume you do not mean the top cover, but the cover that goes over the belt/back of engine.

[skiinxs]

On the 409, that cover is an engine safety item. There were some early cases where a boat had some water in the bilge and the bottom pulley picked up the water and splashed it up to the throttle body intake screen. The engines ingested the water and hydrostatically locked and destroyed the engines. If you have your belt covers off, be very careful no not run with any significant water in the bilge (i.e. forgetting to put the plug in

[Infinity]

On the 409, that cover is an engine safety item. There were some early cases where a boat had some water in the bilge and the bottom pulley picked up the water and splashed it up to the throttle body intake screen. The engines ingested the water and hydrostatically locked and destroyed the engines. If you have your belt covers off, be very careful no not run with any significant water in the bilge (i.e. forgetting to put the plug in

Thanks for the heads up. Usually after the first few outings once I am sure that impeller is good and will be no issues, I put it back on. Just leave it off for a while in case any service is required. Replaced my belt this Spring too....so wanna keep an eye on that for first 5hrs or so.

[peteSki]

peteSki I would agree with you in changing the impeller each spring but having tools and an extra impeller on your boat to change a failed impeller "on the fly out on a body of water" is this really realistic? I'm not being critical but I just don't see that I could actually change an impeller in a V-drive engine while I'm out in my boat during an impeller failure. I would think it would be dam (n) near impossible and I would just flag someone down to tow me to a marina or my dock. Please let me know what I'm missing here.

For sure it would depend on your boat and access to the impeller. In my case, I have the Excalibur 330 in a 2005 boat (direct drive) and the impeller is right at the front of the engine and super easy to get to. I carry a small socket set on board that would allow me to remove the belt and impeller in about 5 minutes if I had to. I'm also a hydrofoiler, so the socket set is also needed to tighten up the bolts on that as well! I have always carried some basic tools for piece of mind, just a few so as not to add too much weight or take up too much space. A good sharp utility knife gets put in every season for the inevitable time when a rope gets around the prop and it won't come off by hand. Hasn't happened to me in a few years, as well I haven't had to change an impeller out on the water.... but piece of mind in knowing I'm covered!

[scottb7]

On the 409, that cover is an engine safety item. There were some early cases where a boat had some water in the bilge and the bottom pulley picked up the water and splashed it up to the throttle body intake screen. The engines ingested the water and hydrostatically locked and destroyed the engines. If you have your belt covers off, be very careful no not run with any significant water in the bilge (i.e. forgetting to put the plug in

Wow, thanks for sharing...Why the heck would they design the darn thing with those 2 bottom studs facing down. It is bad enough that you are on one side of the engine and you have to find both studs, but then you have to pull up and over the top brackets. If the studs simply faced up you could set it on one bottom corner then go over to the other corner and set it on...

[skiinxs]

Wow, thanks for sharing...Why the heck would they design the darn thing with those 2 bottom studs facing down. It is bad enough that you are on one side of the engine and you have to find both studs, but then you have to pull up and over the top brackets. If the studs simply faced up you could set it on one bottom corner then go over to the other corner and set it on...

I can see where that could be a problem in a V-Drive, never thought of that. No problem at all on a 200. The plastic covers also have a habit of cracking and breaking at the top where the thumb screws secure them.

[scottb7]

You are so right they do crack.

[Nautique Fan]

I have a 2007 236 and two years ago soon after we launched the boat, we noticed a high temperature reading. Luckily I had just ordered a new impeller and belt and had them with me (thanks to advise from Planet Nautique members). We put the boat back on the trailer and borrowed a socket set from a more prepared boater (possibly a boy scout). This was the first time I had changed out the impeller and belt (I bought the boat used 3 years ago) and it took me about 40 minutes. Having the spare parts saved the rest of the day.

I now keep the right tools, spare impeller and belt on the boat. I also take the impeller out each winter when I winterize the boat. I follow the advise to by OEM parts. I think I will start to change the impeller annually. For $40, it's pretty good piece of mind.

[charlesml3]

For $40, it's pretty good piece of mind.

That's how I see it, too. I know I can't prevent EVERY possible thing from ruining a weekend but I'm sure going to get as many of them as I can. I've replaced the impeller in my boat every spring now for nearly 30 years (across several different boats). I've never had one bad out of the box, and I've never overheated an engine. It's cheap insurance.

-Charles