Impeller ?

[neilfett]

Well Yesterday I was out on the water and about half way through my run the engine temp went to 209 degrees and white smoke came out of the engine and it smelled like rubber. My first question is is it only the impeller, and my second question is how hard is it to change the impeller myself. And is there an article here were it explains how to replace the impeller on a 03 VLX with the moonsoon engine. Any help would be greatly appricated.

Thanks

Neil

Edited September 2, 2006 by neilfett

[SunriseH2OSkier]

Probably only the impeller, not hard to change yourself, but definitely harder on a V-Drive. You might try the search function for tips on making it easier - I just did one on 'Impeller' and found numerous threads on the topic. Here's one example.

My bigger concern would be whether you now have a bunch of tiny rubber chunks all through your engine. You'll get a pretty good idea of how much of a problem it might be when you (1) pull the old impeller to see how much of it is left, and (2) look in the trans oil cooler inlet to see how much rubber got trapped there. Hopefully most of the chunks are big. If not, you run the risk of having rubber bits blocking water passages in your motor, which can affect your cooling.

[VinRLX]

I would carefully inspect the exhaust hoses. . .

[sunscapeJeff]

When mine went out a few months ago, it definately wasn't difficult to pull the old impeller out, as only the core was left. Putting in the new one wasn't difficult either; you just lube it up with the glycerine that comes with the impeller and slap it in there. Also, don't worry about which way the vanes go; they correct themselves when you start the engine.

Make sure that you pull off all of the hoses and empty them out. Pull off the hoses that go into the water pump, at both ends. There will be alot of pieces in those. Also, as Sunrise said, check your tranny cooler. There will be pieces jammed in there.

No worries, though. Once I got all of the bits out, I haven't had a problem since. Check your exhaust hoses as VinRLX said, to make sure they're not split from the heat.

In the future, you may want to resolve to replacing those every year or every other year, as I've promised myself. It's a scary experience when those things go out. For only 30-40 bucks, it cheap insurance.

[SmoothWaterMan]

On a general note - if your impeller goes, check and clean 3 locations for remaining pieces.

- Transmission Cooler inlet, clamped to block above alternator, in the water line before the thermostat housing. There is a metal screen on the inlet side that will catch debris, weeds, sawdust, etc. (Sawdust? Yes, ask those that run on old sawmill ponds)

- Hose between raw water pump and transmission cooler.

- Hose BEFORE raw water pump. Yes, parts can backfeed into the intake side hose, oddly enough.

As mentioned, if the engine has run hot enough long enough, or the boat is old enough, the hot exhaust gases will blister the interior wall of the exhaust hoses, although the exterior will look perfect. Pull off the top clamps and take a quick look inside for restrictions.

Peter