I used the hardin ss body's. From a seat of the pants review. They were very nicely machined. Much easier to work with than the 3 piece merc one. It clearly did take more time to lift water than the mercs. I liked them and they were easy on impellers but they were slightly less efficient in my application.

Interesting, I wonder why the housing would make a difference in the flow assuming it is machined correctly? Are the inlets and outlets different maybe? Just curious as I have no experience with this and can see my 1995 plastic units exploding if I go to service them so was looking for a better option.

Eddie put the housings on and I didn't really look at them, so I really don't know. My engines did not overheat at all. Just noticed a long time from the engine start until water out of the exhaust. Notably different than the mercs. I'm not recommending against them, just honest observation. They very well may flow as much once they get going.

Yes, just checked the condition of my impeller 5 minutes ago. No wear marks although it does have a very slight curve to the blades. The stainless housing is slightly different than the plastic Merc, you can tell by looking at that it won't flow as well. I spent some time on the stainless housing with a die grinder to smooth transitions. I haven't noticed any delays on start up, as near as I can tell I get water out of my exhaust pretty quick and a lot of it.

That's good info on the housing I will keep them in mind still if mine fall apart lol

FYI its no peace of mind to put a used impeller back into the impeller housing at the beginning of the following year no matter what. I am not dogging anyone here but reporting some info as might be unknown by the do it yourselfer. There is no difference in time / labor to install a used impeller compared to installing a new impeller.

The impeller is the heart and the start of of the cooling process. Correct ?

Also lets just say you really could not tell which way the used impeller was spinning after you pulled out. If you put an impeller back into the housing the opposite way that it was spinning - your chances of tearing the vanes (blades) off just went up 500 % that they will fail when back in use. FYI.

Current marine engine cost 20k to ???? and a OEM impeller with a warranty against defects 45 bucks - jeepers I know which way I am spending my money. If you think you are saving money on a very wearable part and at 45 bucks at that - . Just saying .

^ That's a very good point!

This, and I put in a new housing & impeller at the beginning of the season and have put in 2 per season on occasion. Piece of mind is worth more than $80.

Bravo black plastic housings - I will never just change the impeller alone no matter what especially in our area with very low water conditions and not many run sea strainers here in which I can not believe still to this day. Merc gen VII pump (jabsco) here has about a 2 year life span from internal scaring. Yes the Hardin is a good replacement plus repairable- as they use the older style Bravo impeller and the tolerances in their housing are all done for a reason. They are different than the first ones that came out for a reason. You can call them and they will tell U why not change any of that plus have tested it for the results they wanted.

I put in new impeller's and housings every year. It makes no sense to me not to, especially after you already have it torn apart.