does the impeller spacer and water tube often stay up in the housing, or should it come out with the rest of the water pump?I think my spacer is up in the middle unit, (not sure if its the spacer or not) i tried to pull it down but it is on tight
It helps if you give the Make, Model, HP, and year of the engine you're asking about. I don't know what you mean by "impeller spacer" but it might be an engine I'm not familiar with.
That spacer tube is there to keep water out of the drive shaft area. You can spray penetrant on the spacer and wiggle/twist to get it out. Put a little soap on the new orings to slide it back into position when ready.