which way should the impeller lay

[Steev-oh]

I have a 97 four winns 180 horizon rx with 4.3gl/sx.
I have only had the boat in the water 3 times since I bought it 3wks ago.
the first time was a water test performed by the previous owner.
The first time I took it out as the new owner, I had a bad over heating issue from idle on to 45+mph it ran from 200-220, I stopped and brought it back home pulled the thermostat out it turns out it was rusted closed. On muffs it ran at 160 for about 25min at about 800rpm which satisfied me enough.
Second outing I had it warming up at the dock while I loaded the wife and kids (about 10-15min) the temp was almost at 220, I put it in drive and it dropped to 170 and sat there as long as I was moving I drove it at about 40mph for about 1hr and it sat at 170 I slowed down coming back into the harbour and cruised just under 10km/h according to the GPS, and the temp stayed steady until I stopped and waited my turn to exit the launch idled and she climbed back up over 200.

I decided to pull off the sea pump, good choice on my part 1 of the screws was hand tight I am guessing it was sucking air, the gasket showed evidence of a water leak. the sea pump is (Johnson style- the one with the 3 screw on the back cover) any way I pulled the impeller out and 6 of the fins stayed bent over so I am about to put the new one in but I am thinking someone may have put the old one in the wrong way, the reason I think this is because the fins are bent right over and when it the shaft rotates it looks more like it would push water out the inlet and want to draw water in the outlet. I have a manual but it only shows a pic of the crank driven pump. Does anyone have a picture a Johnson style pump with the impeller properly installed?

Sorry for the long explanation I just wanted to give a lot of background

 

[Steev-oh]

Re: which way should the impeller lay

Sorry a pic is not required, I had a brain fart and realized that hey, the fins will fold over to the proper direction when the belt makes the pump rotate. Either way I will post the result of the new gasket and impeller install. Fingers crossed this will fix the idle over heating issue.

I didn't mention for those that are not aware there is a test you can perform to see if your impeller is working or not, that manual says you need 2 people.
disconect the oulet hose of the sea pump at the T-stat and start the engine if the water shoots out 2-4inches the sea pump is okay, if not the impeller is faulty or there is a blockage. this test can only be performed in the water NOT WITH MUFFS.
the manual also mentioned another test to see if there is air leakage, replace the outlet hose going to the T-stat with a clear hose start the engine and watch for air bubbles again this test can only be performed in the water NOT WITH MUFFS

 

[Steev-oh]

Re: which way should the impeller lay

Well I took the boat out today and it was fine for about the first 45 min it ran at about 180deg I slowed down to a crawl and she heated up over 220 I picked up some speed and it dropped a bit so I put it back on the trailer and brought it home and checked the water pump to see if it was bad it seemed ok so I put the muffs on it and as soon as I turned the water on I noticed water shooting up at the back of the engine apon further investigation it was the inline oil cooler on the raw water inlet, I removed it and it was split on the one end 180deg around it. I am guessing the previous ownder didn't properly drain and winterize the engine last year. I hope after this repair every thing will be fine.

I hope these issues can help someone figure out there issues