Impellar

[aintskeered]

So it has FINALLY warmed up to get the boat out! Flushed the engine hooked up every thing from the winterization. Checked all the fluids! Jumped in to change the impellar. No worries here 20 min old one out and new one installed. Droped a couple screws and the cover. However, I am missing 80% of one of the veins on the old impellar. Took off several hoses can not find it. will this get chewed up and go on through or lodge some where, or is there a screen where it will get caught and I can get it? This was my first impellar change on an 2007 lsv with 76 hours on it?

[Chadr]

Hey I had the same prb with my 2002 malibu. The impeller was chewed up in mine too, and the dealer told me that they would not hurt the water pump and would be blowed out the exhaust....So I just replaced mine and it is ok....

[JesseC]

That is the reason that I replace mine every year! Some times they come out looking perfect, some times the come out missing an ear. The one from last season looked dry rotted when I took it out and it was really stuck to the impellar housing! I would imagine that your engine just processed it and passed it through the exhaust. I would just watch the temp gauge and check the line that feed into the exhaust manifold.

[silverski]

I burnt up my impellar in shallow water a year ago. Changed it myself and asked the dealer if I needed to worry about the finding the pieces. I got the same reply of don't worry about it. However, when I winterized last year and took hoses off I found all the pieces. Mine is an 05 V-drive. If you have the same, follow the hoses from the impellar back towards the front of the boat. It will be on the left side of the v mounted engine if you are facing the back of the boat. The hose hits what I think is called the transmission cooler????. The hose connects to a metal piece that has a screen in it. Mine had the rubber impellar pieces stuck in much of that screen. I ran it all of last year without any problems or high temps, but feel better now that I have found the pieces.

Curious what trick you used to get the impellar out? Given the position on the v-drive I had a hard time getting it out. Since I knew it was already damaged, I got it out with a screwdriver. I would like to inspect mine this year but I need to come up with an easier way to pluck it out.

[aintskeered]

Thanx guys I will check at the trans cooler, I was figuring it should be okay but never know!

SilverSki, I layed accross the the rear hatch with the engine compartment open, nut driver to loosen and drop the srews, Squirted it up with wd-40 and let sit while I cleaned the cover plate and gasket off(7-8 minutes) , Bumped (not started ) the engine 4-5 times and it almost fell out! just a light pull with fingers!

[tazz3069]

Is it all that hard to change out the impeller. I think that I should chage mine out before I hit the water.

[04OUTBACK]

Jesse i believe recommended removing the waterpump assembly on the flywheel to make removing the impeller easier. I removed all the bolts/screws but the pump was kinda heat sealed to the flywheel..BUT, I did realize that by having it unbolted, it would spin so I used a pair of needle nose pliers to grip the impeller and rocked the housing and it popped out... one of those jobs that the first time takes an hour, the next time will take 15 minutes.
Tazz, you can doo it!

[tazz3069]

I guess if I can rewire my boat, I can change the impellor. I hope it is alot easier than an outboard motor. I had to drop the entire lower end to change the impellar. What a pain in the A$%. It was not light by any means. Who can I order an imellar from?

[Buttafewcoe]

You want to get those pieces out. The water jackets in the exhaust manifold are not big enough to let large pieces pass through, restricting water flow. Most of them should be found @ the intake side of the trans cooler...
.
Hope this helps
.
B

[tazz3069]

Does anyone know where I can get the impeller? I found one at Overtons.com. I am not sure if that is the one I need. Does anyone know the part number? I have the 5.7 Indmar.

[JesseC]

Tazz, it is the Johnson 812 impeller. A lot of people pull the plate and then pull the impeller out leaving the pump on the harmonic balancer. I prefer to pull the entire pump off of the harmonic balancer to inspect the internals. There is a Wear plate on the top side of the pump that sometimes get impeller edges stuck to it, they appear as black line residue and I like to get all of that off so it does not "sand down" my new impeller. I also like to check the play in the bearings. I then use plumbers grease to coat the impeller and inside the housing to help the friction from the first start of the year where everything in there is dry. The first time you pull the pump free of the harmonic balancer is an absolute b!tch. Now I can pull the pump, coat the impeller, reinstall the pump and hoses in about 30 minutes. Get some emery cloth to polish the edge of the pump and inside of the harmonic balancer. This will make the next removal a breeze....hope this helps.

I purchased mine from skidim

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RP061018

I also ordered an extra gasket.

[Buttafewcoe]

my local marina got me one for 26 bucks.
.
B

[tazz3069]

Thanks Jesse,
I am going to order mine today.

Just ordered mine. I hope it is the right one.

[tazz3069]

Jesse,
I just wanted to say thank you again. I ordered my impellar. I talked to the guys at the marine place and they knew exactly what I needed. I will be here shortly.

Mark

[cab13367]

The first time you pull the pump free of the harmonic balancer is an absolute b!tch.
Jesse,

Do you have any tips to offer us to make the first time removal easier? Why is it so hard to get off the first time?

Thanks,

Al

[JesseC]

Well I guess that there are two reasons that it is difficult the first time. The first reason being that it is the first time and everything in a V-Drive is upside down, backwards and really hard to get to because you have not done it before. The second reason is that the outer edge of the pump flange (red arrow in photo below) gets rusted to the harmonic balancer. After you remove the pump, use some emery cloth to lightly polish this area as well as the area in the harmonic balancer. Do NOT sand it, just polish with emery cloth or some really fine sand paper. The entire process can be done from the Port side of the engine compartment.
https://forum.moomba.com/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=114

Here are my steps; they may be different on the newer models

1) Remove engine wall separator from Port side
2) Remove blower to get better access
3) Remove hoses from pump assembly
4) Remove the single bolt from the support arm on the bottom (6mm I think)
5) Remove 3 bolts from Flange to Harmonic Balancer (8mm I think)
6) Rotate pump to free the bottom post from the support arm
7) Grab pump and wiggle from side to side while cussing at the devil for not letting it come loose
8) Pump frees itself smashes your knuckles into the exhaust and your removal is complete.
9) Remove cover plate and clean gasket from pump and plate.
10) Pry out impeller (many methods here, screwdrivers, pullers, Vice Grips, I go the route of Vice grips with thin nose)
11) Inspect pump and internals
12) Lube new impeller and housing (I use plumbers grease)
13) Push impeller into housing while rotating flange
14) Put gasket and cover back on
15) Polish pump flange and harmonic balancer with emery cloth
16) Put the three center bolts back first and tighten in a circular pattern to confirm the flange is flush
17) Put bottom bolt back into the support arm
18) Re-attach hoses
19) Drink a victory beer!!!!

[cab13367]

Thanks Jesse. I am going to tackle this tomorrow and will let you know how it goes.

Al

[tazz3069]

Jesse I was reading the instructions on the impellar. I am a bit confused though. I could not find anywere that part about cussing and smashing your knuckles. Are you sure about these important steps? If you say it needs to be done that way then I guess I have to follow directions. HAHAHA LOL Thanks for the steps. I will attack this project this weekend.

[cab13367]

Jesse,

I thought I would get a head start and worked on this tonight. I removed the 3 allen bolts holding the pump flange to the harmonic balancer. I removed the allen bolt holding the arm down so the pump is now free to rotate. I've pushed and pulled on the pump and it will NOT budge AT ALL! I even carefully pounded on it with a rubber mallet with no luck. How stout is this thing? How hard can I hit it with the rubber mallet.

I know now what you mean about it being a bitch. I tried some liquid wrench on it and am letting it soak while I type this.

Any ideas?? I don't think this thing will budge if I just wiggle it back and forth because it is not budging AT ALL.

Thanks,

Al

[cab13367]

Jesse,

After trying a bit more, I decided to abandon trying to remove the water pump as it was just not buding at all. I discovered that by removing the short piece of the engine access panel towards the rear of the boat, the part that doesn't fold down, I was able get good access to the water pump cover and see the impeller really well. I removed the hoses, sprayed silicon lubricant that I had laying around onto the impeller, and briefly spin the engine. I was then able to easily remove the impeller using needle nose vise grips like you did.

Impeller was in perfect shape so I will keep it on board as a spare.

Thanks again for the help.

Al

[JesseC]

Al, sorry to hear that you had so much trouble. Mine was not that bad the first time. I got the boat in 05 and the impeller had never been changed. So it had been attached to the harmonic balancer for 3 years and I like to have never got the thing free. In my old style LSV there is hardly any room to get to the back of the pump, I think the newer ones have a little more room between the back of the block and transom. Glad you got the impeller changed though. Also good to hear that you can remove it easily in the newer models without too much effort.

[tazz3069]

Jesse
I am ready to attack the impellar today. I took the cover off. Now, when I had a outboard motor, and changed the impellar, I had to make sure that I installed the impellar the same way it came out. I had to make sure the fins are bent over the same way it came out. Now on that note, I took the cover off to inspect the fins. The fins are all over the place. What should I do? Which way should the fins be facing? Please help.
Mark
702-287-8863

[MEDIC151]

I noticed yesterday after working on the boat to get it lake ready that I had on each side of the motor, the elbows on the manifold(both sides) are leaking and the temp jumped to 180 fast. It didn't get over that temp, but I don't remember it running that hot. I will be replacing the impeller tommorow and checking those out as well. If anyone has had this, let me know.

[tazz3069]

Just talked with Skidim. They had said just to put the impellar in and it will sef adjust.

[JesseC]

Sorry, I did not get back to you earlier. The internet was down here at work. In the Johnson pump it does not really matter which way the fins are facing when you intall the impeller it will fix itself, but I would put some lubricant on the fins to help them "fix" themselves. I always put a little plumbers greas on the fins to help with the first dry start after that there should always be a little water in there to help things out.

[tazz3069]

Thanks Jesse. I just got home. I opened a cold one so that I can attack the impellar

[tazz3069]

Well the Impellor is finished. It took me all about 20 min. Took off the 3 bolts on the balancer, and the single bolt at the base, gave it two shakes and it came right off. Put a little grease on the new impellar and reinstalled. I did not even get to finish my beer. Hold on_______________________ Ok now I finished my beer. Thanks again Jesse.

[JesseC]

Well the Impellor is finished. It took me all about 20 min. Took off the 3 bolts on the balancer, and the single bolt at the base, gave it two shakes and it came right off. Put a little grease on the new impellar and reinstalled. I did not even get to finish my beer. Hold on_______________________ Ok now I finished my beer. Thanks again Jesse.

No problem mark, glad to hear that yours went easily. It does not take all that long to do and is fairly cheap, this is also the reason I replace mine every year. Sometimes I pull them out and they look new, and other times they are missing a piece. I always go to the same lake, same spots and the same marina, but I get different results every year on my impellers. 20 minutes during the spring can save a wonderful season on the water.

[cab13367]

Well the Impellor is finished. It took me all about 20 min. Took off the 3 bolts on the balancer, and the single bolt at the base, gave it two shakes and it came right off. Put a little grease on the new impellar and reinstalled. I did not even get to finish my beer. Hold on_______________________ Ok now I finished my beer. Thanks again Jesse.
tazz,

You lucky dog! I could not get the impeller housing to separate from the harmonic balancer no matter what I did. I even pounded on it with a rubber mallet. I was able to R&R the impeller without removing the housing though so it's all good.

Al