Dodged and bullet...or atleast an overheat
 

Had a friend call me last night and told me about how his boat overheated and he had to change the impeller on the water pump while on the water......So here i am saying to myself thats doesnt sound fun haha
Anyways, i did research on here and found that everyone seams to change them ever 1-2 seasons so i said " what the hell, ill change mine" only because i just bought the boat and dont know much of the history
As im fighting to get this pump out( its a new style 496 HO), im cursing my friend and myself and how when i get it out if nothings wrong im gonna freak! Well............The impeller was probably one more joyride away from letting go! Wheeww...I felt much bettter that i went through all that! So Thanks alot OSO...Im learning from you guys everyday!

Anyone else have a story of catching something before a failure?

I just got a pontoon boat with a 200 merc outboard on it. Been a while since I did the outboard thing. I used to always change them every year. Got the new one down and it looked brand new then I was told that they can last 6 years on the new motors. Oh well at leaste I know what I have now! :D

With my old 382 I would have the drive pulled apart every year to inspect the gears.....one winter we found gear teeth about ready to let go. Sure was easier/cheaper to replace a couple parts during the winter than possibly an entire drive after being towed in during the summer!!!

I put new impellers in every spring. Cheap insurance and i also keep one or two of the old ones on the boat for spares. Funny thing i have given away more of those spares then anything.

one of the reasons they recommend replacing them every season is boats sit for many months in the off season. impellers will take a "set" when left in the housing making the vanes stay bent over. when that happens and the vane can not stand out straight when it spins to the big side of the housing it will not move water in the same volume. the guys with v-drives like mine where it is easy to remove they all pull the impeller at the end of the day. impellers last for years that way.

On my 500EFIs I started pulling the impellers every winter for this very reason.......after that I re-installed them each year and replaced them every 2-3 years (instead of every year).

Regardless of what the issue is...
 

...isn't amazing how you feel like a real genius when you discover one of those near catastrophic situations BEFORE it becomes a pricey repair function!

No matter if it is an impeller, a trailer coupler, a prop nut or anything else! Even a muffler bearing!




OK, the muffler bearing is a joke!!!

this is is why i just put a water pressure gauge on my boat, visual indicator to let you know before it lets totally loose. bonus also is if you suck something up you know it immediately.

Bringing back these thread because I need to know what is everyone's opinion on how often impellers should be changed, in my case at least I turn both engines on, every week of the year, usually I go out twice a month (year around) , now considering these condition, should I change impellers every 12 month? Less than that? 24 month?

I change mine every 2nd season, and have a water pressure gauge for reference........