impeller replacement for 2005 2200 SR3

[CHAOS2675]

I NEED HELP!! CAN ANYONE GUIDE ME WHERE TO GO OR PROVIDE ME WITH THE INFORMATION FOR WHICH TO AIDE ME IN FIXING THIS? I CAN'T AFFORD THE DEALER REPAIR FEES. PLEASE HELP.........

[seapuppy]

whoa there sport....first off ...welcome to the zoo..second ..might wanna tell us where you are and what engine drive you have...did you have any overheating done or is it just torn up...do you have fresh water cooling with a heat exchanger...what yr is your boat....you know...just give us some info before you have a heart attack...

SP..

[CHAOS2675]

THE ENGINE IS A 350 MAG, ALPHA ONE DRIVE. WE WERE OUT ON THE BOAT AND GOT JUST PAST NO WAKE ZONE WHEN THE ALARM SOUNDED. WE FIGURED OUT THAT IT WAS OVERHEATING AND THAT IT WASN'T THROWING OUT ANY WATER. SO WE IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED THE HARBOR AND HAD SOMEONE TOW US IN. ENGINE IS WATER-COOLED. I AM LOCATED IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.

[seapuppy]

ok...so...we have fresh water cooling..I'm assuming that you checked to see that a plastic bag wasn't attached to the drive...so...assuming that it was clear and the impeller is shot..(by the way...they should be changed every year)...
here's what you need to do...first off ..take the caps off...in cyber world its akin to yelling....(I'm going to assume you don't have any idea where to start ...so pardon me if I dumb it down some)..and assuming you have the impeller kit in hand...a hand pump to pump drive oil into the drive and about 3 qts of drive oil...don't skimp on the oil
second...put the shifter in fwd...of course with the engine off ..and on the trailer...make sure the drive is down...there are 2 plugs you need to pull to drain the oil...yes..you have to drain the drive oil....down on the torpedo part of the drive where the prop is attached...actually towards the front of the drive unit..there is a plug that is opened by a flat bladed screw driver...have a pan under the drive...also remove the vent on the top of the drive unit too...
once the oil is out....about half way up where the cavitation plate ..you'll see 4 bolts...remove those.....in the front of the drive there is a hose..you have to angle around to see this rubber hose about the size of a vacuum hose on a car..that's your speedo tube...pull that hose off it's fitting...in the front there should be a bolt in the front of the drive at the same level as the others on the side of the drive...remove that one
on the back of the cavitation plate...there is a plug in the top..pull the plug and down in that hole is another bolt...pull that bolt ...now tilt the drive up to clear the concrete floor........
here's the fun part....grab the lower drive and shake it to work it down...now...there is a fork in the upper drive so that fork is where the lever changes gears and must mate up with the lever on the lower drive when you replace the lower drive to the upper drive......set the lower drive into the a bucket or something that will support it in the vertical position....also notice the tube that allows water to flow up into the drive...don't loose that...and make sure it goes back on exactly the way it sits......
notice there is a cap that has 3 screws ..remove those and pop the cap off and there is your impeller...before you remove it...notice which way the blades are rotating...or bent....your new one needs to look exactly like that....pull that old one off and replace it with the new one...the blades matching the old one's direction....also make sure that the housing isn't scared and pitted...if it is..you need a new water pump housing....you won't know this until you get in there to remove the impeller and look closely..
reverse the assembly ..putting screws back and tightening them snuggly....there are I think 2 holes on the top of the lower unit...remove the old gaskets and replace with the new gaskets that came with the kit....use a little grease on them to hold them in place......
carefully lift the drive into place and jiggle it up until you can get bolt started on both sides...also don't forget to make sure that the fork has the lever in place..that is your shifter.....
carefully work all 6 bolts evenly until the drive is seated...replace the zinc's and the plug on top of the cavetation plate...
now ..your not done....with the pump and oil for the drive unit..you need to attach the pump to the qt of oil and install the other end of it to the drive at the bottom hole!!...not the top...from the bottom you will fill the drive with oil until some oil comes out of the top hole to keep from getting any bubbles......put that plug in till it seats tightly and then give the oil pump a few more shots.....you should be finished right???....
nope...lower the unit and start the engine normally.....you need to keep an eye on the drive oil reservoir on the first few hrs of running the drive....use the muffs to test the drives cooling and make sure it doesn't overheat...
job done......
that's how you do an impeller....note...if the blades are reversed...it will trash out the impeller and pump and you will have to start over..so make sure before you reassemble the impeller that it is going in the right direction....you may also want to use some teflon grease to make sure you don't do a dry start........

hope this helps......

SP

[zt260]

Nice explanation steve alt. go to www.mercstuff.com they have some pictures and explain how to do certain maintainance tasks,you should be able to print the details off.
have fun
ashley

[racer2c]

Good thread. I'm going to try to do my own next year. Maybe. Would those directions be the same for a 4.3?

[seapuppy]

it would if you have a mercruiser alpha 1 drive and not a volvo penta drive.....I wrote that for an alpha 1 gen 2 drive.....

sp