scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

[coach 29]

I have twin mercrusier ( 250 HP ) I/O engines. The moters are 2007 but have been only in the water 2008 and n2009. We have a total of 75 hrs on them. The boat is docked in a deep ocean harbor out side of Boston ma. I've never hit a sand bar or beached the boat . Only have traveled in marked channels etc.
We took the boat out of the water for the winter. the water pumps both are scored and will need to be replaced. merc will not back this up even though they have only 75 hrs. they claim sand caused the issue but as stated above we don't think so. Purchased the boat new in the fall of 2007

Any ideas or help will be greatly appreciated

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Much like tires and wiper blades on a car, water pump impellers are considered a maintaince item and not covered by warranty, nor should they be, as sand can be found everywhere in the ocean. Welcome to boating! 'nutcase

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

This sounds like normal 'wear and tear'....

Judging from your post, you weren't experiencing any cooling issues. Many boaters replace their pumps annually, just for the peace of mind.

Just for curiosity...who determined that they were beyond use?

Happy boating! And 'welcome aboard'!

 

[coach 29]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

I keep the boat for the winter at the dealership I purchased it from . They discovered the pumps during winterization. I personaly went to look and no doubt they where scored.

 

[coach 29]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

one more thing the cost to replace was 1600.00

 

[Dave1251]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Wow, I can I be your boat dealer. Not sure what type of boat you have, but engine access would have to be very tight to get the replacement of two water pumps to $1,600.00.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

I don't want to pass any judgement on your mechanics...so I am going to word this carefully!

Scoring is normal around the inside of the pump housing, and usually has no effect on the operation of the pump. I am referring to the stern drive impeller...I can't speak for any engine mounted pumps.

Wait for some other 250 HP owners to read this thread, for their experiences.

I'll keep an eye out for this thread, and 'bump' it if it looks like it is getting lost into the Black Thread hole...!

Happy boating!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Sure it `s not $1300 for the haul and $300 for the pump service

 

[rodbolt]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

the late style MCM and MIE seawater pumps are solid brass and may have the fittings for a water pressure transducer,part of smaartcraft and gaurdian, if the pump housings are damaged, and thats a judgement call, yes the pumps are about 800 apiece.
we have that issue here even though your in the channel at oregon inlet there is a terrible amout of sand suspended in the water and some hulls go through 2 pump rebuilds a year.

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Rodbolt is right, those pumps are high dollar yet they have exactly the same wear specifications as the old bakalite (spelling?) pumps and as far as I know, there isn't a kit for them yet.
Last year I refitted 6 boats for the old style pump for people who beach there boats here in havasu.

NOTE:
Doing this voids your warranty.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Rodbolt is right, those pumps are high dollar yet they have exactly the same wear specifications as the old bakalite (spelling?) pumps and as far as I know, there isn't a kit for them yet.
Last year I refitted 6 boats for the old style pump for people who beach there boats here in havasu.

NOTE:
Doing this voids your warranty.

There is or may have turned into WAS a place in your area, Lake havasu that was building A rebuild kit for the 496 set up anyways, That may have worked with the smaller engines also. Every one kept calling it the R&R impeller rebuild kit, But when I went to find the info, Their web site was down, And this link is all that will pop up now, Maybe you know of them? And are they still there?
http://www.randrproducts.net/

Also I found this web site I believe is part of that same company, But I think it's the owners myspace web site, Not to sure about that, But that logo looks to me like what use to be on their main web site when it was good, Here is that web site, Maybe you know?
http://www.myspace.com/randrproducts.

"From some one eles that used the kit that I was trying to find."
My 496 had 200 hours on the original impeller when I got the boat and it blew. The rubber of the impeller was super hard and not flexible. The pump also was significantly scored. The scoring could cause a new impeller to cavitate and reduce pressure. New pump is expensive. I bought the R&R rebuild kit ($150). Really nice kit and easy to do. The wear plates are stainless and can be flipped over and re-used if they get scored.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

one more thing the cost to replace was 1600.00

Well the big question is do you have bravo style stern drives, Or do you have alpha style drives???

Because you said you have 250 HP engines that could go with a alpha drive, Now if you have the 5.0 MPI engines with 260 HP then yes it more likely you have the bravo drive, And the impeller housings do get scored up pretty easy, And are very expensive to replace And you have two of them to deal with.

 

[coach 29]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Sure it `s not $1300 for the haul and $300 for the pump service

the pull wasn't part of the cost

 

[coach 29]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Thank you for the help .

 

[coach 29]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Bravos with the water pumps attached to the engines

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

There is or may have turned into WAS a place in your area, Lake havasu that was building A rebuild kit for the 496 set up anyways, That may have worked with the smaller engines also. Every one kept calling it the R&R impeller rebuild kit, But when I went to find the info, Their web site was down, And this link is all that will pop up now, Maybe you know of them? And are they still there?
http://www.randrproducts.net/

Also I found this web site I believe is part of that same company, But I think it's the owners myspace web site, Not to sure about that, But that logo looks to me like what use to be on their main web site when it was good, Here is that web site, Maybe you know?
http://www.myspace.com/randrproducts.

"From some one eles that used the kit that I was trying to find."
My 496 had 200 hours on the original impeller when I got the boat and it blew. The rubber of the impeller was super hard and not flexible. The pump also was significantly scored. The scoring could cause a new impeller to cavitate and reduce pressure. New pump is expensive. I bought the R&R rebuild kit ($150). Really nice kit and easy to do. The wear plates are stainless and can be flipped over and re-used if they get scored.

The problem with that unit was it didn't do anything for the diameter wear for the pump. It only corrected the wear on the ends.

 

[coach 29]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

have you heard any more issues on the mers water pump scored issue?
many thanks

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: scored mercrusier water pumps 75 hrs

Raw water impeller housings get scored all the time. And it's pretty normal. 75 hours in 2 years is plenty of time to ingest enough to hurt them.
That said, I'd LOVE to see them. How scored can they be, if they were still pumping water and the motors weren't overheating.

For example, this housing, while not beautiful was not causing an overheat at all: