Posts: 3484
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | I should also mention that with the impeller change, a full pump replacement is really only needed if you have somehow had sand pulled up in your intake, which would essentially scour the housing of the impeller making it less efficient. The full pump replacement has the housing, the gaskets, impeller and shaft pin (name of it escapes me right now). So...depending on the condition, the whole thing might need replacement or it might just need the impeller changed and you can reuse the housing.
The impeller replacement requires taking out the bolts that connect the lower unit to the mid-section of the motor (probably 4 or 5 at most). The lower unit will be free at that point save the shift linkage. If the lower unit drops only an inch or so and gets hung up, the shift linkage has a connector that needs to be removed. Once removed, it will come out easily. In many cases there will be a little bolt that sits under the front part of the engine that needs to be removed. If you follow the linkage, it should lead downward to the lower unit, and the other to the shift mechanism(whether it is on the handle, or port side of the motor)
The impeller change itself is a matter of removing 4 bolts for the housing, which then slides right up the main shaft of the lower unit. the impeller then has a little half-wedge "key" that holds it in place. Sometimes this can be tough to remove but essentially the impeller itself will release from that. Then, reinstall the new impeller and key (again, a little pain to do once in a while) reinstall the housing, then reinstall the lower unit.
One major point of note: When reinstalling the lower unit, be sure that the copper tube for the water pump system is placed correctly in the lower unit. I didn't do this one time on a 6hp Johnson motor and ended up taking the entire lower unit back off just to get it right. Attach shift linkage bolt if needed, and fire it up...should be sucking water up well at this point.
So...if you get a bit active and decide to do the job yourself, it is not too hard of a job. My only recommendation is take your time, and if you have a second body around who is willing to help out, the second set of eyes are always a good thing.
Steve
Edited by VMS 4/14/2011 2:19 PM
|
