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Water Impeller Life/ Replmt schedule (Yamaha)

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Lilguy

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Suppose there are varying opinions on this. What are your recommendations on impeller replacement. 2 full seasons on my Yamaha 150. 42 hrs, Kept on trailer indoor valet service. Marina recommends every other year.
 
Saltwater or freshwater? There's more to this than just an impeller replacement. I'm in saltwater, but trailer from my house and take excellent care of my engines. Washed, flushed, (with muffs, running) and covered. The impeller change intervals are at 100 hours or once a year. These impellers with proper use will easily go 300 hours, I've seen it. But service is more than just an impeller change. It's just taking things apart and inspecting and cleaning bolts, lubricating the driveshaft to crankshaft spline, inspect the pump housing for scores from sand, the main issue I've encountered is a stuck woodruff key that drives the impeller; you cannot remove the bottom plate without removing the key. Yamaha for some reason insists on a super tight fit in the keyway which can eventually weld itself to the driveshaft. I lap the keys until they are just a light tap fit with a smidge of grease in the keyway. The service also includes all the filters be changed, gearcase lube inspections. Engine oil change etc. If your 150 is a 25" shaft, it will have the driveshaft bushing that needs to be greased. If you take care of the engine and in freshwater, every other year would be fine.
 
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I usually change every 3 . It also depends on your water if you're in shallow sandy 2 yrs may be time .
 
Is this a big job? Expensive? And something they can do beginning of season or typically wait til winterizing time? I'm going on season 5 and now you got me thinking I should do it.
 
Part is inexperienced, labor is high due to removing the lower unit
 
Fresh water Lake system in Illinois, run on River connecting it all. Oils and filters changed every fall.
 
Oh most certainly. I was asking with the assumption that my marina would do it. Thanks though!

Are there early signs that the impeller is going bad, or does it just fail and your engine starts to overheat?
 
The quickest way to destroy an impeller is to start the engine without water either from the lake or from a flush attachment(muffs), you have about 5 seconds and it is toast. Never run the engine with the water hose attached to the flush port, it is made just to backflush the engine cold without running it, that can damage the impeller also. Wear from frequent grounding from sand or mud will will wear down the rubber vanes on the impeller. Unless you have a water pressure gage it is difficult to know if you have lost water pressure or not, so the engine temp gage is your last resort to keep an eye on it. If it's been 5 seasons, you need to get it replaced asap. Impellers are cheap, overheated powerheads are stupid expensive to repair.
 
FightinIrish said:
Oh most certainly. I was asking with the assumption that my marina would do it. Thanks though!

Are there early signs that the impeller is going bad, or does it just fail and your engine starts to overheat?
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Fightin - Some signs are loss of water pressure if you have a wp gauge, which many people do not have, or running higher water temps due to reduced flow. If your impeller is just shot, you'll know right away! But 5 years is probably time to check it out for sure if you can DIY, or just have the replacement done by a tech. I've read of folks changing after 8 years but that's seriously rolling the dice with getting stranded AND have parts seized up.

OP Every other year change is ridiculous unless running very high hours. Marina is trying to get a service sale out of you. Follow the maintenance guidelines from Yamaha which should be 3 years/300 hours for replacement. They do say to "check" every year or 100 hours.

It's not a hard job, just takes time if you can turn a wrench. I watched a few YT videos and it was a cinch. But as noted above, it's a great time to check all other parts and make sure they are lubricated and not seizing up to the point of a MAJOR PITA down the road.
 
Impeller every 3 yrs!!!
 
Edit: Freshwater boat/boater only. :)

We went five seasons in the water on our original impeller and changed it at the start of what would have been its 6th season in the water. Boat was going on its 7th year anniversary at that point as it sat out a season due to electrical repairs. All was fine. Not that I necessarily recommend going that long, but we had no motor issues. Labor with our dealerships was pretty expensive. I’m not physically DYI currently, let alone not being so skilled/knowledgeable wise. So boat work for us is done in at a marina or the dealership.

This will be its 2nd season in the water since the impeller change. We’ll see how it goes down the road if we wait and do it after season 5 again or if we change and do it sooner after season 3 this time around. A decision for spring of 2027 for us.
 
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My dealer goes with 5 years/300 hours whichever comes first. Almost due for our second one.
 
I strongly encourage anyone reading this thread is that this DOES NOT APPLY to boats used in saltwater. Going 3-7 years without gearcase removal is going to cost you thousands in extra cost due to seized bolts, stuck driveshaft and shiftshaft splines, corrosion and a host of other issues. I maintain all of my boats myself in Florida saltwater for the last 50 years and I have seen it all.
 
fitz73222 said:
I strongly encourage anyone reading this thread is that this DOES NOT APPLY to boats used in saltwater. Going 3-7 years without gearcase removal is going to cost you thousands in extra cost due to seized bolts, stuck driveshaft and shiftshaft splines, corrosion and a host of other issues. I maintain all of my boats myself in Florida saltwater for the last 50 years and I have seen it all.
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Agreed
 
I went to my dealer this morning , I have one of the" bad paint lower unit" Verado's . I told them to change the impeller while its apart .
 
Jack M said:
I went to my dealer this morning , I have one of the" bad paint lower unit" Verado's . I told them to change the impeller while its apart .
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Just watched a video on this last night. The technician said if you are into that far you might as well change everything and not just the impeller. There are seals that also dry out and go bad, especially if you are in salt water. The only thing he doesn't change is the housing as long as it doesn't show signs of overheating.
 
I'm not in saltwater, dealer will check everything. I have the 8 year Platinum warranty, if they find anything questionable they will change it .
 
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