"Scott Shirley" wrote in
news:dtmqc.111140$Ik.9057297@attbi_s53:


I am new to boating and purchased a 1996 model with an 5.7L inboard
last spring. What maintenance do I need to perform after
de-winterizing the boat?

Oil Change ( I have no idea if/when the previous owner had it changed)
Belts?
Hoses?
Any other fluids, filters, or things that need to be changed/adjusted?


Larry W4CSC wrote:

I-M-P-E-L-L-E-R in the water pump. Sure beats an overheated, seized engine
12.8 miles from the trailer/dock/shop up some creek.....

Give it a new one every year and never run out of COOLING WATER....(c;

Larry

Good advice on the impeller. Many people have caused themselves major repair bills by overheating
their motor without realizing it.

Now a little more information that most people should ignore, but some will find interesting. Those
little rubber impellers are good for a lot longer than most people think as long as your running
them in clean water. My 1996 Maxum still has the _factory_ impeller in it (8 years old now). I
crack the lower unit and inspect it every year, and I even have a brand new overhaul kit (impeller
and metal sleeve) sitting on the shelf. So far, I haven't been able to bring myself to replace the
impeller because the sleeve is smooth, and the factory one still looks as good as the replacement
I'd be putting in. Its not like it hasn't gotten any use either, because our hobbs is now showing
over 250 hours. I suspect that since the boat is primarily run from a marina slip in a deep
clearwater lake (Lake Travis), that it just hasn't had much sediment run through it, and that the
sand and sediment is really what kills the impellers.

A more experienced friend of mine tells me that it is living on borrowed time, but I'll be darned if
I'm going to change it out as long as it remains flexible, and doesn't show much wear.

BTW, I'm not advising anyone else to try this...

YMMV,

Don W.

Don W wrote in
m:

Those little rubber impellers are good for a
lot longer than most people think as long as your running them in
clean water.

Only problem is they get hard long before they fall apart. They are
stuffed into a cavity they don't really fit into bent over sideways like
that. They, eventually, take the shape forced into them, especially if
they sit idle quite a bit (like 90% of the boats you see). The blades on
one side sit forced over further than the blades on the other side. When
rotated, these hardened blades don't make proper contact with the walls of
the oblong cavity, so they leak their little load of water back to the next
blades coming up. Pressure drops, but not enough to hurt anything,
really.....until it's too late.

You can help, by the way, if you'll get them wet and just rotate the engine
once a month while it's stored to squish up some different blades and let
the ones squished up last month relax.

On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 22:18:14 -0000, in message

Larry W4CSC wrote:

Don W wrote in
om:

Those little rubber impellers are good for a
lot longer than most people think as long as your running them in
clean water.

You can help, by the way, if you'll get them wet and just rotate the engine
once a month while it's stored to squish up some different blades and let
the ones squished up last month relax.

Or better still, remove the impeller and let it sit round and
unstressed when the boat is layed up for the winter. If nothing else
it guarantees an annual inspection.

Ryk

"Ryk" wrote in message
...
Or better still, remove the impeller and let it sit round and
unstressed when the boat is layed up for the winter. If nothing else
it guarantees an annual inspection.

But store it under water or put some vaseline on it, to prevent the rubber
of drying out and becoming brittle.

Meindert

Meindert Sprang wrote:
"Ryk" wrote in message
...

Or better still, remove the impeller and let it sit round and
unstressed when the boat is layed up for the winter. If nothing else
it guarantees an annual inspection.


But store it under water or put some vaseline on it, to prevent the rubber
of drying out and becoming brittle.

Meindert

Well, the new ones sit out in the box, and they don't seem to dry out. The rebuild kit that I've
got is sitting on the shelf, and the impeller is just packed loose in the box. I suppose that after
a long time they might harden up, but I don't think that Mercury puts any "shelf life" on them.

Don W.

Don W wrote in
m:


Well, the new ones sit out in the box, and they don't seem to dry out.
The rebuild kit that I've got is sitting on the shelf, and the
impeller is just packed loose in the box. I suppose that after a long
time they might harden up, but I don't think that Mercury puts any
"shelf life" on them.

Don W.


I think the torque pushing sideways on the rubber is what destroys them.
Let's face it, all these pumps are cheap pieces of crap, as cheap as they
can get away with. Hell, I got one that fits on the end of my drill. It
retails for $6.

Wonder why we couldn't get a self-priming pump without breakable rubber
parts for $12,000, the cost of a big outboard motor with no transmission,
no wheels, no suspension system, no passenger cab, no radio, no A/C, no
heater, no lights, no trunk, damned little painted surfaces and made of pot
metal.....??

Even for $2,200 for a 3hp, single-cylinder, 2-stroke outboard with the
simplest engine in the world, we should be able to get a pump made of
STAINLESS METAL PARTS, shouldn't we?

Larry