Replace outboard water pump

If my outboard motor is 5 years old should i have the water pump replaced as preventative maintenance?

I would.

It’s recommended at 3 years/300 hrs for most brands.

Will it last longer? Most likely, but 5 years is pushing it for top performance.

They’re easy to change and not very expensive. Just buy the impeller and not the “kit” unless you’re changing a really old one.

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Honestly I’ve never replaced an impeller as preventative maintenance. I’ve got a motor in my duck boat that has sucked up more sand and muck than a normal motor would ever see and its still going strong (18 years old). Only had an impeller actually fail once and that was on a 14yr old kicker. Stream got weak so I dropped the lower unit and sure enough one of the pedals on the impeller had gotten torn off. If it’s not a huge motor the job is pretty simple and cheap. I guess if I we’re going on a long trip or far from shore I may do it preventatively but I don’t ever see myself in a situation that would be terrible if the pump did go out.

yes. Cheap fix for an otherwise costly expense. Maybe it Depends on the size of the motor? My 150 gets a new pump/impeller and new plugs every 300 hours or 3 years. No problems

Well i just had the one changed on my 250, i paid close attention to the mechanic while he was doing it and he said because of the gaskets and O rings you should buy the whole kit….i can tell you after watching the process no way would i try it.I change mine every 2 years but i put a lot of hours on my motor.

I changed my own once and it turned into an all day event. I decided my time was worth more than the cost to have someone that does it every day takes. I generally fish clean water and at 5 years the impellers still look like new but do it anyways.

Watched You tube video on my Suzuki 115hp and took me about a hour the first time. It helps to have help with the bigger lower end but easy to do.

I would replace the impeller at 5 years just to know how much wear and tear your use puts on the impeller. Compare old to new before you install.

I don’t need to replace impellers that often. I don’t run in mud or heavy silt, so a 5-year-old impeller on my outboards shows very little wear. I do it when I have time, but I can easily go 7 years with very little wear. YMMV so change once to see where you stand.

Grouse

The Opti`s they recommend 2 years at the max, I just about burned up my Yamaha T8 it quit on me and I could not figure out why. Turns out the water pump was so bad she overheated, and it was still putting out water thru the p-hole. Replaced the water pump and got lucky she runs fine.

Many times it is not wear as much as the vanes get hard and will not seal against the outside metal ring reducing water to the engine.

My 8hp kicker pump went out this summer. I rebuilt it but still wasnt pulling water. Hard to test because standard hose ears wont work on it due to strange water intakes. I have to fill a 5 gallon bucket and jam it in there, so I cant test forward or reverse at home. Anyways a couple weeks after rebuild I finally got it out on the river and it was shooting water out of the shaft water/exhaust hole but not the indicator. Last night I tore it all apart again. Blew compressed air everyplace and wired every crevice. Everything looked good so I put it back together and same thing. Did this 2 more times but really took my time making sure the engine supply tube went into the pump grommet on attempt number 4. Bingo. Water everywhere. Similar situation with my Evinrude 15hp. Last Sunday I went to install rebuild kit because indicator hole was not even dripping. Come to find out the last guy that rebuilt the water pump had crushed the output grommet on the pump so barely any water was making it through. I replaced everything since I bought a kit and that one still took some messing around with air and wire but finally its peeing like it should.

I was out all day yesterday pulling the kids around on the tube and just running around on the river. The big motors pump is weak and I plan to replace it before my next outing. When replacing seals and pumps be sure to use a water based lube and not oil, oil breaks down most water seals and can reduce their life.

I was gonna start a new thread but this seems like a decent place to add to an existing conversation.

’89 yamaha 6hp. At trolling or puttin’ around speeds it pees consistently. Last night when running wot down the river I noticed the tell-tale was kind of intermittent at times. It would pee hard for 4-5 seconds and then nothing for 1-2 seconds, then pee hard again, over and over. If I bring it back to slower speed it pees consistently again. Thoughts? Thanks!

tangler wrote:

89 yamaha 6hp. At trolling or puttin’ around speeds it pees consistently. Last night when running wot down the river I noticed the tell-tale was kind of intermittent at times. It would pee hard for 4-5 seconds and then nothing for 1-2 seconds, then pee hard again, over and over. If I bring it back to slower speed it pees consistently again. Thoughts? Thanks!

Does it have a thermostat? If yes, have you tested it to make sure it is functioning.

Have you checked the water pump impeller to make sure the key is in place and it’s not slipping? Better yet would be just replace it.

I suspect your impeller may be spinning on the shaft or it is so worn it can’t keep up with the flow at higher speeds. Could be a thermostat also.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tangler wrote:</div>
89 yamaha 6hp. At trolling or puttin’ around speeds it pees consistently. Last night when running wot down the river I noticed the tell-tale was kind of intermittent at times. It would pee hard for 4-5 seconds and then nothing for 1-2 seconds, then pee hard again, over and over. If I bring it back to slower speed it pees consistently again. Thoughts? Thanks!

Does it have a thermostat? If yes, have you tested it to make sure it is functioning.

Have you checked the water pump impeller to make sure the key is in place and it’s not slipping? Better yet would be just replace it.

I suspect your impeller may be spinning on the shaft or it is so worn it can’t keep up with the flow at higher speeds. Could be a thermostat also.

Grouse

Thanks for the thoughts. I only noticed this for the first time last night so haven’t had a chance to dig in at all yet. I always keep my eye on the telltale as it’s the closest thing to onboard diagnostics I have haha. Sounds like it’s time to get my hands dirty. I’ll say the stream was not unusually warm.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

,,,,,,,,,,,or it is so worn it can’t keep up with the flow at higher speeds.

^^^^ this. Much the same as a prop on an outboard with worn out or missing blades. It will move the boat around at low speed but can not handle the load at cruising speeds.

At speed the pump isn’t working as hard because of the increased head pressure. First thing I would do is pull the pee tube and make sure it is clean and clear. I had the same issue once and at higher speed/increased pressure debris would pack in and prevent flow, it was fine at idle. Rare/long shot but easy to check and can make you pull your hair out chasing it.

Thanks guys.

Grouse, it does have a stat.

I’ll start by checking the tube and then the t-stat.