Need Help with 2003 330 Excalibur Impeller

[Skidave]

Hey everybody,

I'm going to start a new thread on impellers and I need help. My 03 Air 206 has 80 hours, so I changed the raw water pump impeller. Vince @ D.I.M. supplied me with two kits and I am having serious problems. I NEED HELP.

First, I changed the impeller on my old PCM Ford half a dozen times with no issues. This 03 model is kicking my butt. This is not a serpentine belt version, the water pump is driven by a small belt off of the crank pulley. This is the worst job to get the pump off and then I could not get it out of the bilge. I finally got the impeller changed and now I can not get the pump to stop leaking (at the gasket).

Here are a few items:

1) The old gasket was a white foam.

2) The gasket obviously leaked a bit before because the water ran onto one of the screws for the back cover and rusted the washer and then tarnished the body of the pump.

3) The new gasket is this thin paper fiber type. I called Vince to make sure this was the correct gasket and he said yes.

4) I ran the boat and water is leaking out from three different points on the rear cover / gasket.

5) I removed the gasket and cover and made sure the impeller was seated all the way-OK.

6) Reinstalled the gasket with some sealing compound called vacuum grease. Much like KY or Vaseline, but thicker and used on medical ventilators-NO HELP

7) Tonight, I went to the autoparts store and got some thicker gasket material much like the paper gasket, but it is has more 'sqashability'. NO LUCK, still leaking! I did not use any lubricant on this gasket.

I called PCM and left a message with Marc Shneider (last name?) this morning, but I have not heard back. I'm starting to think there is problem with this pump housing or back cover. There is severe scorring from the impeller blades on the back cover, so maybe the cover is warped in strange way? This is not one of the serial numbers that was part of the recall, so I think I am ok.

Any suggestions? I asked Vince if there was a conversion kit for the serpentine system and he said no, not currently. Talking with him, it sounds rather costly to do it part by part.

The boat and engine are still under warranty. I don't want to have to take it in for this and I would hope the service guys that I trust, would not RTV the gasket and cover in place...

Thanks in advance!

Dave

[wake955]

RE: Need Help with 2003 330 Excalibur Impeller

Same problem here, my replacement impeller came only with a rubber oring. My impeller had a foam gasket. So ordered the gasket and got a fiber one and it leaks. The fiber one looks like it should have gasket sealant to work. My next step is to give PCM a call. I wonder why the foam gaskets are hard to find? OEM thing???

[NautiqueJeff]

RE: Need Help with 2003 330 Excalibur Impeller

Here's a post I made some time back about impeller replacement. Maybe some of this info will help.

Changing the impeller is fairly simple. In the diagram of the raw water pump below, you'll be replacing the items marked "2". They include the impeller and the styrofoam gasket. Your PCM Impeller Kit (Part #RP061017) will also come with an O-Ring, which should be discarded when installing the impeller on an Excalibur.



1. Loosen clamps and remove the incoming and outgoing water hoses from the water pump.

2. Loosen the belt tensioning bolt, and allow the raw water pump to slide back so that the belt can be removed.

3. Remove the two bolts holding the raw water pump to the engine.

4. Remove the raw water pump from the engine.

5. Remove the four screws holding the impeller cover in place. Be careful not to loose the washers.

6. Remove the impeller cover, and discard the old styrofoam gasket.

7. Take note of the direction of the fins before removing the impeller! Using two flat-head screwdrivers, carefully work the impeller out of the raw water pump. Be extremely careful not to scratch or disfigure the inside of the water pump, as this can lead to poor water flow and early destruction of the new impeller fins.

8. Apply a thin layer of soap to the inside of the water pump. This will aid in installation of the new impeller, and lessen impeller wear at the first startup.

9. Push the new impeller onto the keyed shaft of the water pump. Be sure the fins are pointing in the same direction as they were on the old impeller.

10. Install new styrofoam seal and cover, and tighten the screws.

11. Install the water pump onto the engine as it was before. Be sure not to mount it upside down!

12. Reinstall the belt and adjust the tension.

13. Reattach incoming and outgoing water hoses. Tighten clamps.

That should just about do it. You might not have to remove the water pump to complete this procedure, especially if you have a direct-drive, but I usually do it, just to make getting the old impeller out a little bit easier. If anyone has anything to add, please feel free.

[wake955]

Jeff, first of all THANK YOU for your previous detailed post and instructions, I saw that before and used it to replace my impeller. The problem I had was that the new impeller only came with the rubber o-ring gasket and not the foam OEM gasket. So when I ordered just the gasket I got a fiber gasket instead of foam.

I emailed PCM yesterday and got a reply this morning and they said just use a little RTV on the gasket surfaces. So it sounds like the foam gasket is a little easier in that you don't need sealant but the fiber gasket works fine and like most engine parts needs gasket sealant to work.

I hope someone else will find this useful.

Cheers, Keith

[LT206]

skidave - I also have an 2003 Air 206 - when I changed my impeller last year I had the exact same frustrations that you described in getting the pump out of the bilge to work on it. It is a bear to access this pump.

I replaced the gasket with the foam gasket - no sealant, and it also leaked. I couldn't get it to stop, no matter how tight I screwed the cover on so I just watched it the first time I went out after the change. I found that it stopped leaking once it went in the lake. I figured either one of two things happened - the heat from running at normal temps had something to do with it (although this pump should never see a lot of heat), or the draw from the lake was less pressure than my waterhose provided and the water pressure from my hose was causing the leak. At any rate, mine is not currently leaking and I keep an eye on it.

[03SANTE]

Reviving old thread changing the impeller for the first time in my ownership...

I already remove the hoses for winterization. No issues there. After that would it make sense to remove the 4 pulley bolts or does this pump come off without taking off the pulley? Assuming I need to remove the two large bolts in the picture and possibly another down below. Goal is to just remove the pump from the boat and change out impeller on the bench.
Any input from someone who has done one before is appreciated!

[Skidave]

No, leave the pulley attached. Remove the two bolts holding the bracket for the pump. You can see them in your bottom photo (above)...located just below the hose and above the belt. Then the whole assembly can be finagled out of the bilge. You only take the back cover off the pump housing to expose and change the impeller.

[03SANTE]

Perfect! Thank you very much.