IMPELLER

[VONER]

Have A 22IR 01 with 35O MERC. had to change the impeller at the opening of the season. It seems that it will stop working and lock-up only after a hour or two, not when I first start. Same thing last year.
Is this common and anyone esle out-there with IR same problem?
Drain all water in system during fall (October)and start back (March) Spring.
Can I prevent this or is it the nature of the beast.
Not a major problem only inconvenience.
Voner

[dogbert]

You might want to check the tension of your belt or maybe it's time for a new belt.

[JUST-IN-TIME]

what do you mean it stops working?

[VONER]

The impeller locked up in the housing. (Rubber ears broke and wedge in-between housing)

[chpthril]

Sounds like it's time for a new housing, what's the inside of it look like, blueish in color, scored? Could be out of round due to running dry/over heating.

[illiniboarder88]

How long does a housing traditionally last? I guess that makes sense that if the impeller gets hot enough to start falling apart that it could damage the housing.

[TRD]

I bought my boat and didn't change the impeller that year. Well the impeller vains had come off and some of the piece went up and were stopped by the screen. Take a shop vac and try to suck any extra pieces out, this can ruin a new impeller. Also had to do w/ Chptril suggested. My housing was shot.

[dogbert]

How long does a housing traditionally last? I guess that makes sense that if the impeller gets hot enough to start falling apart that it could damage the housing.

Well, you want to change the impeller before it falls apart. If it does fail, there's always a chance that it will damage the housing, but you won't know that unless you remove it and inspect it. It's a real pain on a V-Drive, especially the Mercruisers.

[JUST-IN-TIME]

buy a new factory housing
but it might be a bad pump

[illiniboarder88]

would a damaged housing cause the impeller to flip?

[chpthril]

would a damaged housing cause the impeller to flip?

Not usually, the main cause of a flipped impeller is the engine rotating backward a few degrees when you shut it down. This is caused by a piston nearing TDC on compression stroke, but not quite making it, so the pressure pushes it back down turning the crankshaft in the opposite direction. The best indicator of a housing problem is multiple impeller failures or the looks of the bore.

[illiniboarder88]

Thanks, Mike. I assumed they weren't related issues, but I figured it was worth a shot.

[VONER]

I bought a new housing and will try the replacement. Not sure to what degree of scoring on the housing determines a throw-away, but three impellers can cancel the cost of housing.
thanks for the help, I will see what this will do.
World of knowledge on this forum.

[thtrog]

I bought a new housing and will try the replacement. Not sure to what degree of scoring on the housing determines a throw-away, but three impellers can cancel the cost of housing.
thanks for the help, I will see what this will do.
World of knowledge on this forum.

Voner, Hope this takes care of the problem. My impeller went out late last summer and actually cracked the housing. I had changed it the previous year and thought that I could make it through, but didn't realize it had over 200 hours. Good luck and maybe we'll spot you on the water one day.

[dogbert]

I had changed it the previous year and thought that I could make it through, but didn't realize it had over 200 hours.

Those darn kids!