NEED SOME ADVICE

[RobbieO]

Earlier this year I grounded my boat on her maiden voyage and it appears I damaged the impellers. The insurance company sent out an adjuster and he said he found no damage to the intakes or the pumps. After I had the gelcoat repaired, I have taken the boat out 3 additional times and did not experience any rpm difference or experience any cavitation as far as I can tell. The dealer told me the impellers and wear rings would be here around August 9th. Well, now he tells me there is no ETA. What are the risks I will be taking if I use my boat until the impellers come in? I do not anticipate doing any watersport activities this year, just cruising with the wife. Thank you in advance

 

[Trevor Shipman]

As far as I know just a lil off of power. But you don’t run the risk of doing further damage. Maybe don’t dog out the boat, but you certainly run it nice and normal while enjoying you boat till the parts come in.

Sorry about your luck!

 

[rad1026]

Yeah, I think the damage is done. Like Trevor says, don't run at WOT all day but you could certainly take it out. If it is not vibrating noticeably you will be fine.

 

[RobbieO]

As far as I know just a lil off of power. But you don’t run the risk of doing further damage. Maybe don’t dog out the boat, but you certainly run it nice and normal while enjoying you boat till the parts come in.

Sorry about your luck!

Thank you

 

[RobbieO]

Yeah, I think the damage is done. Like Trevor says, don't run at WOT all day but you could certainly take it out. If it is not vibrating noticeably you will be fine.

I have never went WOT in my boat. I do feel a vibration like a bad motor mount when I put my hand on the side of the hull.

 

[adrianp89]

I have never went WOT in my boat. I do feel a vibration like a bad motor mount when I put my hand on the side of the hull.

How have you never gone WOT? lol

 

[RobbieO]

I only have 11 hours on the boat.

 

[adrianp89]

I only have 11 hours on the boat.

Get that thing on the water! I'm pushing 100 hours since March lol

 

[Beachbummer]

Those look totally fine to enjoy. Don't sweat it. From the pictures I agree with @adrianp89 I notice a lack of use problem, the boat needs more use and more hours!

 

[tdonoughue]

My impellers were twice that bad when I first pulled them. Probably look about like that now. Your wear ring is a different story--that is pretty bad. But I agree with everyone: no harm in running the boat as long as it doesn't have vibrations (like those strong ones, like when you suck something up).

 

[RobbieO]

**UPDATE**UPDATE**UPDATE**

So I pulled the pumps out and had a local ski shop pull the impellers and wear rings. These new style wear rings are a slip fit, have a liner, and there are 2 big O-rings in the housings. They slip right out. After inspecting the impellers, most of the damage is superficial. No dents, bends, or serious damage. The attached picture shows the only spot where I found any real dings. They are not deep and I can file them. As for the wear rings, they are wasted. I found a parts house that supposedly has them in stock. Seeing is believing. There are a few nicks in the vanes, but nothing serious. I can clean those up with my dremel. They barely grab my fingernail. If I get my hands on the wear rings, I'm running the impellers. They are just fine. The pictures the dealer sent me make the damage look severe. I looked at the impellers while they were still on the boat with a borescope and they looked pretty good, so I decided to pull the pumps. Had them both out in less than 30 mins. I left my TV's on, no big deal. The black adhesive they use is pretty robust, but flexible. If I can get my hands on the rings, I'll be back in business nest week! As a side note, the customer service at Impros is really bad. I have been calling them for 3 days to get my shipment squared away. No reply to my calls, emails etc. I'm not sending shit to those guys.

 

[Beachbummer]

There no real harm in going out with the wear ring a little busted. I would not lose a weekend because of it.

If you'd rather wait to not put it together twice that's sensible too, but don't stay home only because the Wear ring looks busted.

Best of luck!

Edit: a typo.

 

[RobbieO]

There no real harm in going out with the wear ring a little busted. I would not lose a weekend because of it.

If you'd rather wait to not or it together twice that's sensible too, but don't stay home only because the Wear ring looks busted.

Best of luck!!!

Thank you. New wear rings are supposed to be here next week. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Cliff2]

to touch on a few points here, never going WOT can be a very bad thing.
especially if you idle a lot. need to run a good 5 minutes at WOT to burn out carbon build up that occurs during idle operation.

carbon buildup can result in valves that dont seat, rings that dont seal, both of which cost you compression and may have the cylinder misfiring completely.
it can also cause an increase in compression and wind up blowing the gasket. or worse.

lack of use, motors are meant to run, not to sit.
prolonged sitting, even if you fog the motor, parts can stick internally. rings can sieze to the cylinder wall, valves get stuck open (and maybe meet the piston).
if nothing else, your motor oil breaks down (the additives at least) and no longer provides full protection.
if you expect to be parked for a couple years, or longer, might look at selling it. and then replacing it a few laters when you want to get back out on the water.

additionally, not going WOT, do you have the correct impeller for your altitude and load? you probably dont know. that can cause issues. over revving or unable to hit full RPM (while still dumping all the fuel into your motor. gas is a solvent, washes away oil.)
and, do you have some sort of performance issue that only shows up at high speeds? with only 11 hours, you are hopefully still under warranty. if your fuel pump is quitting, you will see the issue 1st at WOT when the fuel system needs to be running at full flow.

 

[Tgen2013]

If you trailer your boat with every use, hook up your waterlines for each engine run them. Listen observe for vibration/rubbing. If there are either don't use until it is fixed. If you hear/feel nothing, it will be fine for a easy going use.