$400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

[copelandcf]

Shop quoted me $400 to replace, saying they had to pull whole stern, align w/ engine, and pump oil to gears, etc... Said I couldnt do it myself needed special tools. I have read you can do it on the boat right? Are there any special tools? I looked at some how to's seemed pretty easy. I am new to boating so I'm not sure if this is normal price or not for a shop to do it? The boat hasnt been ran for 8+ years so would it be worth it for the shop to pull the whole unit? Thanks for the help!

 

[watchinthebobber]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

Doesn't sound right to me if it's just the impeller like your title says, but it sounds like they found more problems than just the impeller replacement. Parts and labor are sky high nowadays. Not sure on the special tools, but someone here will get you some more info.

 

[copelandcf]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

Impeller only, said 3 hours labor plus parts. I'm sure they will do all the water pump gaskets and o-ring, or at least hope they will. But I just told them I needed the impeller replaced. I dropped it off at the shop but since they wont get to it till Thursday I may go get it and try to do it myself, depending on what everyone says.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

Impeller only, said 3 hours labor plus parts. I'm sure they will do all the water pump gaskets and o-ring, or at least hope they will. But I just told them I needed the impeller replaced. I dropped it off at the shop but since they wont get to it till Thursday I may go get it and try to do it myself, depending on what everyone says.

Wow,

I changed one last week and it only took me about an hour and I did a lot of screwing around...

I already had the drive off and the oil was already drained........

If you remove the drive and check the alignment it should take another hour or so if you're REALLY slow. It only takes about 15 min to pull a drive. 6 nuts and pull the rear trim cyl thru bolt....
If you want to check the alignment you'll have to have an alignment tool. If the alignment is OK, then you just put it back together.

If the alignment is off you might need 30 min or so to raise or lower the front mount to adjust.

The special tools are the alignment tool and ( 2 ) 2 inch or so long 6 mm x 1.00 bolts with the heads cut off to use as a guide when putting the pump housing back over the new impeller.

It's not hard but read the service manual.

 

[watchinthebobber]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

If you have the time and feel confident in your mechanical ability you should do it on your own. The impeller kit only runs around $40 and gear lube is $12 or so per quart.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

sat 8 years?
you really should replace the gimbal bellows and the shift cable bellows while its apart.
it the leading killer of upper drives and gimbal bearings.
these rubber parts dryrot like anything else rubber.
sitting is very hard on them.
a boat that sat 8 years will need WAY more than a simple impeller change or you may take a project and make it an expensive one.
doesnt take much water in the gimal bellows to destroy the gimbal bearing,ujoints and especially the drive input yoke seal surface.
once that seal surface rusts,and it will everytime, the seal leaks oil from the upper case into the bellows and runs the upper case dry.
dont always rely on the lube oil bottle and low drive oil alarms.
do some reading,study it and get several opinions.
to remove the entire drive assy , trim it level,shift to fwd gear, place blocks under the skeg to take the drive weight,remove the rear trim cyl anchor,tie up the rams so they dont fall and get in the way, remove the 6 nuts and slide the drive aft.
once off carefully inspect the shift shaft seal in the bellhousing exhaut cavity and all rubber parts.
the alpha GEN II takes a few more steps such as removing the speedo tube.

so as a new boater first try to identify excactly what you have, then make a plan of attack.

 

[betayv]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

hi there I think is too much money just for replace the impeller you will need to find a friend to help you and here is a good link that show you how to do it, http://www.mercstuff.com/

 

[Don S]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

Are you sure that was a Quote, or an estimate not to exceed? Big difference, personally, I don't ever give exact quotes. It's impossible on boats, especially if they have ever been in salt water. As I said in your water pump post those 4 bolts holding the pump housing on may be frozen in the housing.
Did the people that gave you the estimate actually see the boat/drive? Is the drive corroded on the outside? After 8 years, of sitting, I hope you do as rodbolt suggested, along with pulling the distributor and running the oil pump with a special tool for priming the bearings before cranking.

Have a customer right now with an 83 Glasply that he got for $500, brought it in for a water pump impeller and a starter. The current bill is up to $4000 now, and the heat exchanger is now leaking internally, and while raising the drive, it blew a trim hose. His boat had only been setting for 5 years with water in the bellows. Just one thing after another.

 

[copelandcf]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

Rodbolt, its a gen I Alpha and as far as I could tell the gimbal bellows was not damaged. I will replace all rubber parts just as a precaution, is the anything you recommend besides the gimbal bellows and shift cable bellows? Is there a u-joint bellows also? I think I remember reading about that somewhere.

If I do this job myself, do I need an oil pump to put oil up on the gears? That's what the tech told me, or is this step unnecessary? Also what about the alignment, is this necessary when you just pull the lower trim? Thanks for all the help, everytime I get on here I learn 4-5 things and get more confident on doing this myself. I have a lot of car experience, so I'm not afraid to turn a wrench, its just learning all the different parts of a boat and what they do is the hard part. Thanks again.

EDIT: Just found out the water shutter is missing? I guess from the burnout. Is this part necessary to replace? I'm not sure of its function? Backpressure??

 

[cbear34]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

I received a boat after sitting for only 2 years.
It overheated on me so last winter I did a ton of work on it. It was a huge PITA!! I replaced the water pump and impeller, water pocket cover, all the transom rubber (bellows and water hose), lower shift cable, trim limit and sender switches. I am an industrial mechanic so every day i repair equipment. Make sure you get the manual and all the proper tools i.e. bellows tool, shift cable socket, alignment tool. If your going to do the bellows you will also need to replace the lower shift cable and water hose and clamps. Good advise on this forum said to also replace the lower shift cable. I also wondered about the lower shift cable until I did the work and had to heat the cable to remove it from the housing, thus damaging it. Check your sender wiring to see if the insulation is shot. If the insulation on the wiring is bad and it is the old style you will have to replace the senders with wiring. You can check the gimbal bearing also. It is a very time consuming job if your going to do the bellows.
Also the oil pump is needed to fill the drive. The drive is filled from the drain plug until oil is at the vent plug on top.
I am sure the more seasoned marine techs will be along with more info for you.

 

[seven up]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

yea, they "said" $400.00. And when you go to pick her up it'll be $2400.00.

End of fun !

invest in the stuff to do it yourself and have some fun learning...what the hell

are you gonna be into it for a few years(boating) ?


Enjoy

 

[achris]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

Sitting for 8 years! ... I'd be taking a very close look at the exhaust manifolds and elbows too.....

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: $400 to replace Alpha I impeller, am I getting ripped off?

Rodbolt, its a gen I Alpha and as far as I could tell the gimbal bellows was not damaged. I will replace all rubber parts just as a precaution, is the anything you recommend besides the gimbal bellows and shift cable bellows? Is there a u-joint bellows also? I think I remember reading about that somewhere.

If I do this job myself, do I need an oil pump to put oil up on the gears? That's what the tech told me, or is this step unnecessary? Also what about the alignment, is this necessary when you just pull the lower trim? Thanks for all the help, everytime I get on here I learn 4-5 things and get more confident on doing this myself. I have a lot of car experience, so I'm not afraid to turn a wrench, its just learning all the different parts of a boat and what they do is the hard part. Thanks again.

EDIT: Just found out the water shutter is missing? I guess from the burnout. Is this part necessary to replace? I'm not sure of its function? Backpressure??

pretty much what rodbolt said in post #6


gimble and u-joint are in side the same bellows so no. just change gimble bellows

yes on the oil pump. they are not very expensive and not hard to come by. to refill drive oil--remove top and bottom plugs in drive. install pump hose in bottom hole and pump oil till it comes out top plug hole.

yes you need the exhaust shutters. they keep out side water from backing up into engine if you stop suddenly or take a wave on the transom. your y-pipe has water to the same level as the sea water level outside of the boat when engine is'nt running


you need to pull both the upper and lower unit to do the bellows. not just the lower. you would want to change the water pump impeller. you might not need tho change engine alinement but would be a goo idea to check it


for the price of a shift cable, i would take a good look at the one thats in there and consider changing it while your there. allso if you have trim stop and trim level senders that are'nt working, you would be right there and could change them