PQs do NOT have impeller issues....impellers are something you have to maintain no matter what brand boat you own

Understood, thanks. This is my first boat hence my lack of knowledge. I've been around boats my entire life, I just never heard about impellers needing to be changed ever or every other year.

I have two 496 ho's with over 560 hrs running strong!

Many performance boaters change impellers at the beginning of the season as a precaution, and it is with merit. Being one of the "why do I need to change my crowd" I chanced it and ending up almost overheating my engine in my 272 Baja. Now I do it as part of spring time "summerizing". And don't buy the cheap eBay crap, I know about that one also after fishing shredded parts of a 30 minute old impeller from my oil cooler, etc.

The impeller is rubber. It's spinning in a plastic, brass, or SS case; depending on the pump. They do wear out, chew up (if run dry or fouled), and will "take a set" sometimes and no longer pump effectively.

How to change:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...-impellor.html

All you could ever read about impellers on a Bravo setup:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...?searchid=7688
(Bravo drive setup has the SWP on the lower starboard side of the engine, belt driven. Alpha drive setup has impeller inside the Alpha drive and is mechanically driven.)

Looks like a breeze to rebuild. Looks like a pain to remove from the engine - I can feel the blood rushing to my head already :)

Thanks for the awesome info! I'm going to look at the boat tomorrow.

Don't jump into (purchasing) the first boat you look at.

There are lots of boats.

Servicing is one of the most neglected aspects considered when boat shopping.

The more distance between the pulleys and the bulkhead, the easier to service. Some boats have a backseat that raises with the engine hatch (Sonic and another brand come to mind). Others have a very deep engine compartment and the pulleys are actually under the bulkhead (read: pay a mechanic or hire a skinny dwarf assistant). Also, twin engine boats can be a breeze to work on, or a dream depending on how far apart the motors are, how much room is outboard of them, as well as between them in a side/side or stagger setup. Twin blocks in a sub-30' foot boat are often a real pain to work on.

A/T comes to mind??? that is funny...

Well yeah; and Sonic.

Can you think of any more which are configured as such?

Let me be cut a topic off at the pass: I am not trolling other forums. I click the What's New button:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...e=vBForum_Post
...several times a day and I saw this post title which I know a thing or two hundred about.
I actually forgot which forum this was in, and you reminded me. I edited my post. Feel free to change my quote in your post.

Yea that is good advice. I've passed on a few already - it is pretty easy to tell if someone has taken care of a boat or not. It is a 2002 260 Legend with 300 hours. I'm not sure if it is a 496 or 496 HO. It had some seals replaced last year on the outdrive due to a leak. I have to look into that more.