Impellers

[tara11]

Maybe a dumb question,
But every summer around May June, we get the boat serviced, as we go out alot all winter, many hours, this last winter, due to the economy, work was alot slower, money tighter, so we no where near put as many hours on the water as the last few, so this June we did not get the service, my question is how long do the rubber water pump impellers last, we run our motors after every time out with salt away and water, actually run the motors on land, should I worry about having the impellers replaced, or should it be fine till we get it serviced in Sept or Oct, we will hopefully take out the boat alot between now and then ! Oh, I have twin 150 Yamahas, 2006, because when they service the boat, the main cost is removing everything to replace the impellers, I have watched sometime, only interested in learning to do myself, and they are rubber, just looking for some advise, different from the boat guy here, and it cost alot with twins, but my Vessel assist is current

 

[sparky]

We run our outboards in mud/sand pretty much 50% of the time (shallow water survey operations) and we change waterpumps ever 2 years. They are never chewed up too badly, and we could definitely go 3.

 

[DaleH]

In my experience the impeller itself could last 2-3X the # of years from which we service them (every 2 or 3 being the 'norm').

But you must remember, when doing an OB waterpump service, you are not only replacing the waterpump housing, wear plate, O-Rings, keyway, and impeller … you are also “checking” out and cleaning the orifice and ports feeding the lower unit and water system, including the exhaust tubing and water-feed tube(s). One should also replace the thermostats and clean out the poppit valves whenever a waterpump service is done.

Most important is the LUBING of the lower unit bolts. On lesser-used OBs, say like a dingy motor or kicker, they can easily go 4-6-years IMHO, but I make darn sure to remove, clean, and re-lube the lower unit bolts every 2-3 seasons. I too often see people who haven’t had a waterpump service done in a while … pay lots of $$ to have broken/frozen bolts removed. I use OMC gasket sealing compound on the LU bolts. SS fasteners in aluminum holes, without protection :shock: adds up to an expen$ive headache!

 

[tara11]

Thanks guys, all your info helps !

 

[sparky]

I agree with Dale. The bolts are always a pain to loosen if the LU hasn't been off in a while, and its a good idea to liberally grease them with AquaLube or Anti-Seize.