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2014 Wakesetter MXZ LS3 450 Impellor change


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Anyone have any insight on the easiest way to change the impeller? The fiberglass exhaust is literally right in front of it. 

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Edited by WakeSkeeter
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Almost think the easiest way is to remove the exhaust but I'm not sure what all that entails. Is it just the hose clamps and prying the rubber hoses off of them.

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The LS3 is a closed cooling system and my tech at the dealer said they dont have a raw water impeller... again this is what i was told!

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26 minutes ago, TC_2006_VLX said:

The LS3 is a closed cooling system and my tech at the dealer said they dont have a raw water impeller... again this is what i was told!

Take that with a grain of salt... it still has a raw water impeller... in an open loop cooling system the raw water is pumped into the circulating pump and transmission cooler, water flows through engine block and then out through exhaust.. in a closed loop, raw water is pumped around the engine and transmission radiator then through exhaust... engine still has to be cooled, transmission, and risers still need the water flow... I would question that tech on any work he would be doing on my boat now.

Edited by kerpluxal
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my 2014 LS3 (Marine Power) is a partially closed cooling system.  There is still a raw water impeller that feeds lake water to the heat exchangers and the transmission, possibly the V-drive (can't remember for sure).  But yes, there is an impeller and it is right in front of that fiberglass exhaust.  I have always had to remove the muffler to do the impeller changes in prior Malibus.  Which sucks.  So when I got my 2014 Axis A24 this spring the first thing I did was order a Fresh Air exhaust system and then build/install some muffler bypass tubes.  My neighbor made this set for me, but in the past, Fresh Air Exhaust was able/willing to build me the bypass tubes.  Now impeller changes are a breeze.  And with the FAE system, overall engine/exhaust noise is about the same or even less than OEM.

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1 hour ago, atropine said:

my 2014 LS3 (Marine Power) is a partially closed cooling system.  There is still a raw water impeller that feeds lake water to the heat exchangers and the transmission, possibly the V-drive (can't remember for sure).  But yes, there is an impeller and it is right in front of that fiberglass exhaust.  I have always had to remove the muffler to do the impeller changes in prior Malibus.  Which sucks.  So when I got my 2014 Axis A24 this spring the first thing I did was order a Fresh Air exhaust system and then build/install some muffler bypass tubes.  My neighbor made this set for me, but in the past, Fresh Air Exhaust was able/willing to build me the bypass tubes.  Now impeller changes are a breeze.  And with the FAE system, overall engine/exhaust noise is about the same or even less than OEM.

Is there anything more to it then removing the hose clamps and prying the rubber hoses off of the exhaust manifold? How much did the FAE run you and did you install it yourself?

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Nope, that's all there is to it.  However, it took a pretty good amount of force and some WD-40 to break the rubber loose from the muffler.  I think I paid about $180 for the pair of bypass tubes from FAE.  Not sure if your setup is identical to mine, but I was able to just use 90 degree elbows that taper from 4" inlet to 3.5" outlet.  The muffler ports are not symmetrical, but it doesn't matter because I was able to just rotate the rubber out where needed so the elbows didn't have to have angles in 2 dimensions.  Just a simple 90-degree bend.  The trick was finding an elbow that tapered- my friend built mine and he couldn't find such a thing, so he had to take 4" elbows semi-truck exhaust elbows and then cut/bend/weld one of the ends down to 3.5" and then powdercoat them.  I'm sure FAE can easily fabricate the same thing out of stainless steel and it will be a better product than what I have.  When FAE built my set for my previous Malibu, I think they charged me around $180 for stainless ones.    I installed myself; it was very simple.... just loosen the hose clamps and slide them in place.

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If I remember correctly, there are several other examples on this forum of similar guys with bypass tubes.  Just search muffler bypass and I think several will show up.

Edited by atropine
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20 hours ago, atropine said:

Here are a few photos....

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Yeah I need to something like that for sure. I think it would be way to loud tho if I didn't add the FAE out the back and went with straight pipes in the engine bay. 

It was way easier to just remove the exhaust manifold silencer thing and change the inpeller. Easiest way is to use a screw driver and pry it out a bit then spray WD-40 inside. Walk away for a hour or so then pull it out. 

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