Impellers Sitting For 2 Years - replace?
 

Looking at a boat that has been sitting for 2 years. Impellers were replaced before the boat was put up. Okay to run them or should they be replaced?

depends on your luck,do you feel lucky,if not change them and go boating.

By looking at your location, I would back the boat in the water, leave it on the trailer, start the boat and see. I know guys that have the same impellers in their boat for 10 years. I scratch my head and think, why can't I be so lucky. I have also seen guys put new impellers in their boat every season. I have water pressure gauges for my motors and replace them when I see a drop in pressure. You can look at it as .. if it aint broke don't fix it. Or replace them now and not worry about it. But then it can be said why stop at the impellers? What about springs, rings... etc. Where do you stop?

If you gamble there is a slight chance they they could be brittle. Then you start the engine and parts of it break off and get lodged in always an orfice that is too small and hard to reach. Those always are expensive. Look at it this way the modest price to replace before you start can sure offer a huge piece of mind

3 pointstar

3 pointstar brings up a good point. So let me add that anytime you replace an impeller you should back flush your system. Even if all the impeller parts are there, other stuff can and does get caught in the coolers. I flush them by filling up the system with water, and with the hose off the sea pump, I use a special fitting I made, and blow about 80psi air through the system, forcing the water and air out. I do this a couple of times.

UnThat sounds like a good idea, where are you hooking the air up to?

At the end that connects to your cross over/thermostat housing. But make sure the other end (connecting to the sea pump) is disconnected. And by putting water in the system at the end that connects to the cross over/thermostat, with the air will unplug the honeycombs in the coolers. I made a 1.25 fitting with a on/off valve with an air chuck fitting that I just hose clamp into the end.

I must add that throughout the years of using my flushing tool/method, the junk& crud that comes out is unbelievable . I have had people come to me with issues that when they ran hard for any extended time, that their motor temps would start to climb a little. Well 99% of the time it was because of blockage in the system/coolers.

Change them, it's cheap insurance. I'd rather be boating than f'ing around getting a tow back and screwing with the back flushing hassle.

Cheaper to replace the rubber impeller, rather do that then scower the housing and have to replace the pump housing. Simple to do, one last maitinance item and you have a baseline

Not to mention tbe slow, boring ride home on 1 engine when it fails and wondering if the other one will last long enough to get back to the lift / trailer.

I guess I'll swap 'em out. I'll be making runs to Catalina, 40 miles out, so don't want to risk it. Like you all said, cheap insurance.

Drives and motors were serviced before it was put up but will probably change the oil anyway.

It has 7.4 Mags with 320 hours.:flag: (How come there is no thumbs up smiley face?).

Thanks for the advice.

good info here,i had a boat in the shop recently for a coupler replacement,the owner was telling me he had a shop replace the wp impeller because the water temp was getting hotter than normal,he said it was still getting hot even after the impeller replacement.i had the engine out so i decided to check the coolers for debris,the ps cooler was packed full of broken&burnt up impeller pieces and what looked like sea shells,it was so bad i don,t know how any water was flowing past the cooler.

I would run the boat a day or 2 to see if there's other things to put on the list. Just go run it local

Your will have to change your title to Bajablown if you don't change them. I just ran 44 miles at 82 mph with fresh impellers in 48* air temp. Change your impellers. Cheap insurance. Good luck if you don't!

One tow would probably cover the cost of replacing the impellers....Once you puke the impellers, keep the wallet open for the extra work to clear the coolers... assuming the tech's get all the shards out and that is the end of the cooling problem.

Even if they do not disintegrate, after sitting for 2+ years, they will have taken a set shape and are no longer efficient = new impellers are required.... change them out and reset the clock back to "0" hours and go boating w/o worry!

Heading to the Catalina Wine Mixer?

Being that is a salt water run, I would change the impellers, the anodes, the batteries, the gimbals, the props, the prop nuts, the trim tabs, the rub rail and all the deck hardware just to be on the safe side! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfhT2pPXqBA

2 pages over $60 worth of parts?

Thanks I am one that would rather do preventative then repairs. Always seem cheaper in the long run.

Changing the impellers is just about the cheapest thing you can do when it comes to boating, I changed mine every spring without fail.

They are probably ok, but I'd change them for peace of mind.

62.50 + tax......lol

It's winter..........

Heck, now it's three pages with the added $2.50 in tax... I'll bet we get it to four pages after we include the shipping... :party-smiley-004:

Change, it's not even worth the risk. Iv'e had them break apart and pieces get caught in the hoses blocking the water from cooling. If they look in good shape after you remove, keep onboard for a spare. Just my .02

Of course, I forgot about shipping. Free shipping if you spend $100. Ha Ha.

Installation is also extra and the thread grows.[ATTACH=CONFIG]550105[/ATTACH]


You could always save a little and find one on craigslist. The above should work

My replacements are just like this but not as nice. Do you think the extra groves improve speed and therefore overall HP??

Definitely, less rotating mass.

Just saying in a good way - this sould not even be a question when owning a boat.

All impellers that sit for X amount of time - the impeller blades form a folded over set that does not bounce back inwhich reduces cooling and water flow volume. Also the blades become brittle - they can tear at start up and when one blade breaks off completely the rest will follow like a domino effect.

Even if your app is pumping water, it still is at reduced levels inwhich you are only asking for trouble.

Change

Put a blue one in