Replace your Impeller!

[AL02REDMOBLSV]

Well, from all of the reading I have been doing, I decided to change the impeller on my LSV. It is an 02 with 106 hours on it. I do not know if it was time or the hours that did the impeller in. The boat did not run hot or anything, but it was the original impeller from 02 and I just decided to replace it "just in case". After removing the pump, I am soooooo glad that I changed it. It was warn badly and was missing a fin. I noticed that a few people asked for pics so I am going to attach a few. Next time I change the impeller, I am not removing the entire pump. The impeller was removed very easily. Good luck to the rest of you!

[AL02REDMOBLSV]

Another photo

[AL02REDMOBLSV]

Pump pic

[AL02REDMOBLSV]

impeller pic3

[clark]

I have an 05 Mobius LSV. Is the pump hard to get to? Are you saying that next time you will just remove the 4 screws and remove the impellor? If so, is there ample room?

Clark

[Reno1843]

Yes, all you have to do is remove the four brass screws. This allows you to remove the top plate. One you remove the plate, the rubber impeller is accessible. It is on a hex-drive type rod. If your tap your motor over with the ingnition key, but not start the motor, the impeller will work its way out of the pump housing slightly. You can then grab it with some pliers and pull it all the way out.

Lube your new one, make sure you place it in the way the old one came out, put your plate back on, and you should be good. The impeller is offset slightly, so you just need to pay attention to the direction your motor turns when it is running.

Hope that helped,

Reno

PS: you do not need to remove your entire pump from the motor, just the top plate.

[AL02REDMOBLSV]

The only reason I pulled the entire pump, was that I did not know what to expect. I had never seen pictures and was not sure what needed to be done. If you remove the engine panel on the Port side, there should be enough room to work through. Pulling the entire pump was a little difficult for me since the pump mounting plate had rusted a little bit and fused to the harmonic balancer. I just sanded it a little before I put it back on and it slippped right back on with ease. Next time I am just going to remove the plate and pull out the impeller with pliers, lube the new one and push it in the pump. If you decide to pull the entire pump, it is not bad at all either. I think it only took me about 30 minutest to take it out completely.

[clark]

What did you lube it with when you replaced it?

Also, I saw in the owners manual to remove the impeller at the end of the season. I guess that won't hurt Maybe it allows the fins relax. It says to coat it with vasoline and put it in a zip lock bag. That has to be better for it than sitting dry in the housing for 4-5 months.

Thanks for the info and the pics. I think I will just remove the plate.

Clark

[AL02REDMOBLSV]

I used plumbers heat proof grease. I coated the vains of the impeller and lightly covered the inside of the pump. As far as pulling the impeller goes, I plan on replacing it about a week before next season starts. The only reason I replaced it mid season was that I just bought the boat and did not know about the impeller until I read these threads. So when I start next season, it will be with a new impeller. The lake I am on sometimes has debris in the water and since it was so simple to do and relatively inexpensive. I will just do it every year before the season starts. I will let the old one sit in there all winter and replace it at the beginning of summer.

On just pulling the plate; try just pulling the plate first, if it does not work out, just have your allen wrenches handy to pull the entire pump. You will need two sizes. One for the harmonic balancer and one for the bracket. I will check on sizes this evening.

[Catdog1]

Thanks for the thread. I ignored this for the last two (short) summers.

Removed ours and it was nearly destroyed. Just in time!

Should have tried your "turning the motor over" technique. Pain in the butt to tug it out with vice grips.


Regarding lubrication. Here are two adds.

1. One could also use anti-seize compound on the shaft. Its a silvery sparkly concoction that comes in a small can with a brush embedded in the cap. Works for spark plugs and other stuff also. I've been using the same little 4 dollar can for at least 5 years.


2. We used vaseline on the vanes of the pump. It really helped by allowing us to wiggle the new unit into the right position.

[robgrona]

looks like the pics that were originally posted got removed... does anyone have a link to them??

thanks!!

[Jman]

You can easily remove the impeller with two screwdrivers. Stick them in opposing sides and pry out at the same time. This is easy on a DD. I don't know about a V-drive.

Hope this helps,
Jman

[Ian Brantford]

Hm... interesting about the severe wear after 105 hours. At 78 hours, mine looks brand new. Maybe a chunk of something in the water did initial damage, then unbalanced spinning did the rest?

Ian

[JesseC]

The boat is an 02 and I bought it in July of 05. I figure that it sat for a long time and the impeller fused to the housing and when it was started for the test drive, it may have become damaged. It is just too simple to change to run the risk.