Has nothing to dowith the flaps,,,,,they straighten themselfs out no matter what direction they point.
U have an airbuble somewhere,,,even if the engine is dry it should not do that,,do u have a seastrainer ???

We wiped out a brand new impeller by not putting in any lube around the casing.

i've lubed the casing, and all of that good stuff, yesterday i went and tightened all the clamps to limit the air pockets, then i went to check the impella, and a few pieces had broke off. so i decided to call it a day. but i've just picked up the new impella and this time it's going to be well greased with plenty of water.

this time should i fill the block, hoses with water and still run the garden hose thru the intake hose and try starting

would this work

add one of these, it was the best money I ever spent and have not had any impellar problems since...

http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?...F&WT.mc_id=gb1

You on your second impellar? Have you looked for the pieces you are missing? The pieces could be blocking the water flow. I do not understand how running a hose on earmuffs will not prime the pump. I usually let the water run for a while before I start the engine.

What he said,,,,,,something is not right.

I had these installed in 2003 on my twin application, after a couple of years, starboard engine one had the check valve stick closed and smoked two impellers before I figured out what had happened. Ripped the guts out of it and found the check valve sealing rubber "sticky" with slime build up. It was enough to keep the valve closed with the engine water pump sucking on it and thereby smoking the impeller. Ripped the guts out of both of them and now just use the "body" as a tie in point for the hose connection. Hose on full and engine idling and some excess water back flushes through the sea strainer but at least I don't smoke impellers from stuck check valves. When they work, they work EXCELLENTLY, but have to keep an eye on them to make sure the check valve opens when you first fire it up when sitting in the water.

Agreed...

I haven't had one fail yet but I am sure my time is coming. I have seen some people just install a T in the line which would be cheaper than the valve and help insure he is getting water to the pump when flushing on the hose.

Not agreed,,,,if u have the muffs on the drive ,,the waterhose press will get the water to the pump in less then 5 sec. so that has nothing to do with the impeller.
I agree it takes 30 + seconds to get it to fill the block ,,,,but like i said ....that cant burn up the impeller.
because u have water there already.

SO THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON !!!!!!!!