Impeller query

[Edward 14244]

When would it be prudent to replace the impeller? I read somewhere that they last around 1500 hrs, somewhere else that its best to replace every 1000 hrs. I noticed in the maintenance log of my boat that a PO 'refurbished raw water intake' at 500 hrs, which seems odd to me (unless he let it run dry).I am a great believer in preventative maintenance, but don't want to needlessly replace everything all the time. The manual only explains how to do it, not when.Any suggestions on this one?

 

[John T1594]

Preventive maintenance

There is no hard and fast rule. I change my raw water impeller every two to three years just to be on the safe side and prevent a failure when I need the engine most. For me that translates to about 100 - 200 hours of engine time. The impeller on the fresh water side of the cooling system does not normally need to be replaced.

 

[cmorin]

Changing

I have changed mine annually but am thinking about going two years.......each year when I remove the old one, it looks fine. After I remove the old one, I keep it for a spare but I don't see why I cannot keep the same one in the motor and the same one as the spare for two years. But remember a cool engine is a happy engine.Another topic, stuffing box packing. Last season during launching, the stuffing box was leaking but I was able to tighten the nut and stopped it. How many more times can I get away with just tightening the nut before I need to remove and replace the existing packing ? Is there away to determine this before launching ?CM

 

[Phil]

Reality or per directions?

I do every two years but the hard core recomendations are annualy.