Quote Originally Posted by DOCDRS View Post

Another interesting note is that when i traded to a new v drive this fall the service tech said he doesn't remove the impeller for winterization on v drives, he only removes them when he replaces them ,totally surprised me. I asked how often and i think he said he gets 4 years out of impeller.......i was flabergasted to say the least ......mind you i have impellers that I have used 3 years and look day 1 brand new but i do take them out at winter to relax the arms. I also think having a water strainer is a must, i have yet to ever se anyarms deteriorated torn or marked on any of my impellers. I am going to talk to him again about this just to verify and will keep this updated.
I specifically asked my dealership twice as I was getting it serviced/winterized if they take out the impellers and they said the same thing. I thought it was because they are lazy (and maybe it is), but they say that it doesn't hurt them to stay in all winter as long as you don't run it without any water pickup. Said that if you start it and run it without water for any length of time that pretty much eats them up. And that makes sense! I had read the same thing about using vasaline but think I might just leave it in this winter and see what happens. I have a spare anyway!