496 mag ho impeller problems
 

Hello. I ran into a few problems this weekend when I changed my impeller for the season. I winterized my boat last fall and it has been sitting on the lift all winter. I let it down into the water to start it up. I let it run for a bit on the lift and my boat never primed water through the exhaust. I then let the boat down a little more and gave it some throttle. After that, it started spitting out water. I took it out on the lake and it ran fine. I brought it back in and serviced it and changed the Impeller. When I let it down, it did the same thing till I gave it throttle. After all that I raised it up a bit to do some other work. I was finally ready to take it out on the lake for a test run. I did not even get out of the marina and my boat hit 180 degrees and my header elbow pipes were hot! I knew right then that it was doing it again, so I tried to get on plane and it started working. I've never had this problem in the past. It ran fine once I got up on plane. What is the fix for this problem? I read on some forums about little marks in the brass housing that could cause this. Has anyone heard of a Stainless Steel enplate kit for the impeller housing?

Hey man, I'm actually going through this same issue right now. I pulled my pump to change the impellar and found some significant scarring on both sides of the brass pump housing. I too have the 496 mag ho on the "new to me" 07' Heat I just purchased, so I wasnt familiar with the length of time a closed cooling system takes to exit water from the exhaust.

I have done much research and spoke with "I DIG IT" a few times on the matter and it seems that changing the entire pump assembly is best. Especially since the stock housing is non-servicable. I'm actually considering the Hardin SS sea water pump. It is about $400, but with the boating season being so short, I'd rather just change it to prevent future problems equaling time off the water...Plus, a head gasket fix would be much more costly!! :stooges:

Are any of you guys using the Hardin pump on your 496's? It seems like they make a great product, but I have seen a few bad reviews on the pump (which if you look hard enough you will find on ANYTHING...can't satisfy everyone!). Not sure if that was just intaller error or not.

I had bad scoring on the bronze end plates bought the stainless steel wear plate kits ,works fine ,i did both pumps 3 years still working fine.

I pulled mine out this afternoon and both ends were scored bad. I just bought the Hardin SS model with SS pulley installed. Can't wait to get it!

Sea water update....
 

Finally received the Hardin SS seawater pump last week and installed it immediately. All I can say is wow! Its def a great looking/performing piece. I would highly reccomend to anyone with a damaged pump lookin for a replacement. Its pumps like crazy and in a matter of about 8-10 sec, its flowing water through the exhaust while on the hose. No revving, just starting and idling. Great product and highly reccomended!

How often do your guys typically change out your impeller? I haven't done it myself is it easy on a 2009 525?

Typically, from what I've heard, the impellar should be a seasonal change. I have the 496 and it isn't too bad. It took me roughly an hour or so to change the impellar the first time I did it. Its mostly jus a pain in the a$$ to get to. Honestly, the most irritating part was putting the hoses back on the rear of the pump! I spent more time making sure they were on far enough and sealed correctly than what I spent on the rest of the project. If you have some mechanical skills and basic hand tools, you should be fine. Good luck!