Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

[Dante04SRT]

I bought a replacement impeller kit w/ housing and am going to start working on it tonight.

First question is, where is the drain plug for the gear lube in the outdrive? Also, how/where do I refill it when done?

Second, I found http://www.mercstuff.com/waterpumpinst.htm and am going to follow these directions. Is there anything else anywhere that would assist me in this process?

Third, what is the approximate time that this will take to replace?

 

[gcboat]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

There are two screws usually located on the starboard side of the lower housing. To empty unscrew the bottom first, then the top. To refill you always need to add fluid from the bottom screw hole, not the top. That way you are forcing any trapped air out of the system and not giving you a false reading. You will loose some fluid when installing your screws but it can safely be topped off from the top. Check your mfg's recommendations on proper oil weight.
Takes about a six pack to replace.

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Thanks!

One other ? tho - When adding fluid, how do I add fluid? With some kind of pump??

 

[shamrock220]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Remove the top plug and pump up from bottom. It took me about 2 hours to remove lower unit change impeller, gaskets etc. I am assuming you have a merc alpha 1 drive though. You should post year and drive type.

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

1987 Merc 3.0 w/ Alpha One

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

You can find the plastic gear lube pumps at Walmart in the boat section. About 6 bucks...

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Almost done with the impeller job now. I'll post a pic of the old impeller. It didn't look TOO bad, but I guess it was bad enough. Can anyone verify this to be the cause of a cooling issue?? Some fins were broken and definitely OLD.

I found a couple of weird things tho. There was a plate, shaped kind of like a dorsal fin just sitting in the lower unit. Had some rubber on the back of it. Any ideas? Also, was/is it necassary to use EVERYTHING in the Mercury repair kit? The directions on Mercstuff.com didn't say to tear everything completely apart, but there were a few leftover gaskets when I was done.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Ayuh,........

That's been run Without Water........

Not only is the Housing Burnt Up,......
That little piece in the middle Looks like 1/2 of an Exhaust Flapper Valve.......

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Ayuh,........

That's been run Without Water........

Not only is the Housing Burnt Up,......
That little piece in the middle Looks like 1/2 of an Exhaust Flapper Valve.......

Bought a new housing so all good there... as for the exhaust flapper... Can I run for now w/o this or do I have to get it replaced now?

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Yikes, that is fried!......
I would back flush the system to see if any of that impeller comes out.....
You can do without the exhaust shutter, just remember that it is possible for your engine to ingest water under certain conditions......​

 

[shamrock220]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

What kind of kit? It is normal to have left over gaskets. I would worry about where the blades of the impeller are though.

 

[smithrock]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

not to hijack but, anyone else having problems with the forum?

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

not to hijack but, anyone else having problems with the forum?

Yep! & it means that you should be doing something else!.....

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Ayuh,.........

I can only get to Whatever thread is listed on the forums Main Page,.....
I'm getting a Database Error page if I try to access the I/O Forum........

So,........ This is the Only thread I can post on,.........
Til Somebody brings a new thread Up to the Top of the I/O Forum.........

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Yikes, that is fried!......
I would back flush the system to see if any of that impeller comes out.....
You can do without the exhaust shutter, just remember that it is possible for your engine to ingest water under certain conditions......​

How/Where would I backflush it from?

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

OK, PROBLEM________

Got everything put back together and after wrestling with the lower unit for a while trying to get the shafts lined back up... everything bolted down.

Put the prop back on and tried to spin it - LOUD CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK... Like something is binding. Plus, it was in neutral, now when I try to put it in gear its VERY stiff...

Any idea what happened? I cannot figure it out, everything went so smooth.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

With the lower unit Off,........

Stick your garden Hose into the In-line from the outdrive, At the T-Stat Housing.......
That'll Back Flush that much of the system,+ That Where the pieces Should be........

Edit,....... You posted again, over me........

The lower unit Has to be in Forward,+ the controller Has to be in Forward,.............
Whenever you're working on Mercs......
Everything Has to be in Forward........

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

The lower unit Has to be in Forward,+ the controller Has to be in Forward,.............
Whenever you're working on Mercs......
Everything Has to be in Forward........

Forgive my ignorance, can you define Forward and how I would get everything in Forward?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Forward Gear,.......

The Controller, aka. Shifter Has to be in Forward,......
The Outdrive Has to be shifted into Forward.......
And,...... In this case,.......
The Lower Unit Has to be shifted into Forward,+ Held there.............

I use a bungee strap, wrapped around the propshaft,+ hooked to the A/Cav. Plate to hold tension on the Forward Gear........
Otherwise.....It slips into Neutral,+ you get what you Got........

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Bought impeller kit... couple ?'s.

Forward Gear,.......

The Controller, aka. Shifter Has to be in Forward,......
The Outdrive Has to be shifted into Forward.......
And,...... In this case,.......
The Lower Unit Has to be shifted into Forward,+ Held there.............

I use a bungee strap, wrapped around the propshaft,+ hooked to the A/Cav. Plate to hold tension on the Forward Gear........
Otherwise.....It slips into Neutral,+ you get what you Got........

I think I'm getting the picture here now.

I'll take the lower unit down again and then shift the shifter/controller into Forward.

As for the outdrive, doesn't shifting the controller into forward shift the outdrive into forward? I mean, since I didn't take apart the outdrive, shouldn't it mirror the control?

With the propshaft, as long as there is tension (towards the bow) put on the threaded propshaft, it will keep it in forward?