Had a Water pump go out today, First day out

[ddmracing05]

Just went and bought a 1999 Tige 2100V with only about 250 hours on it. When we bought it in Georiga took it out for about a good hour and it ran great and no signs of anything going wrong, it was not started out of the water. Yea, we went to the boat ramp today to put in for the first time, right when i turn the key belt wouldnt turn cause the pump was seized up but engine ran fine. So its in the shop now and im pissed off because i really want to take it out. Should be done tuesday since good friends own the shop so they are getting it done fast.

Ok to the point,
How often does this happen ive heard that this is a yearly check up thing for most people.

And since this is my first post I just want you guys to know that im not new to wakeboarding ive been doing it for about 2- 2 1/2 years now so im not a noob. Thanks

didnt mean to put the smiley face up there

[scoot18]

That sounds strange, very unusall for a water pump to fail suddenly without any signs. Usually there would be some noise if one of the bearings were going bad or close to seizing. When did you get it in GA? Was it before the winter? If the boat sat over the winter in freezing temps. if there was anywater in the pump housing and it froze, that could of caused a failure. It's just very strange for it to happen all of the sudden with out any warning.
Good luck on a quick recovery.

[ddmracing05]

Picked up the boat last week in GA. It had been winterized since before Thanksgiving. It has about 2 hours of run time since being put back into service and all seemed fine but it siezed up today. When we took the water pump off today, you could tell the impeller was screwed up, You could not turn it by hand when we took it off, but everything spun freely once the impellar was out. IMHO it was actually good that it happened at the ramp and not 10 mile down river.

[R&T Babich]

ddmracing05 - Are you talking about the raw water pump or the engine cooling water pump? I agree with Scoot18 if it was the engine cooling pump. They will usually leak out the weep hole and then the bearing will squeal, but I've never had an engine cooling pump seize - probably because I replace it when is squeals. Our boat sat for 2 years before we bought it and the raw water pump had 2 of the rubber blades with cracks at the base almost half-way thru because it hadn't been turned in 2 years (48 hrs total on boat). The rest of the blades looked fine, but I can see if a boat sits for 6 months the rubber impeller blades get stressed, just like tires on a trailer that sits. I block our trailer up over winter and plan on running the engine at least once a month.

[ddmracing05]

It was the engine cooling pump impeller. It is probably from sittlng as long as it did and then being used.

[da.bell]

When was the impeller changed last? They should be changed annually....

[ddmracing05]

I dont think it ever has been changed... Ill ask my dad when he wakes up tomarrow hes been the one talking about it im kinda new to the Mercruisers. Yea i dont think its been changed though ill ask him tomarrow.

[scoot18]

Yeah thats two different things. The impeller is pretty fragile and requires regular replacement. It can work fine one time and then the next time out, fail. Good to keep a spare one on the boat, so in case of an emergency you aren't left stranded. If you use the boat frequently all year long, you could squeeze a few years out of it providing its used in clean water, but that would still be taking a chance. If its an impeller it will be a fast and easy fix, you'll be back on the river in no time..................

[ddmracing05]

yea its the impellar... After we get everything checked it will be used EVERY weekend and some in the week after school. So yea It will be getting a work out now that its in my hands.

[zad0030]

Ah yes that sucks,

We check ours before we back off the trailer.

[ddmracing05]

^^^U take it off every time u back off the trailer? Ours is a pain in the butt to get to so we dont.^^

[zad0030]

Yeah ours is a PITA to take off too. We just unscrew a drain plug a little bit to see if water is being pumped.

[ddmracing05]

Oh ok thats no biggie then. I thought u meant u take it all the way off and inspect everything inside it! Once i want to be on the water im like in a hurry then so its not usually a good thing but i just cant stand the extra time

[scoot18]

It was the engine cooling pump impeller. It is probably from sittlng as long as it did and then being used.

So is it fixed yet? Are you back on the water?

[ddmracing05]

Heck yea just got back. Since ive only wakeboarded for 3 weeks last summer, I finally Cleared the wake Today (jumping). All went well I was surprised on how clean the wake was! Cant wait to go back out.