Solas impeller self destructs @25mph. Good thing we had spare impeller, and cordless grinder.

[dan144k]

Ordered up the parts.
Went with the precision marine impeller housing with removable plastic ring. and stock impeller from procaliber.com.
Boat runs so parts will get here eventually.

yamahasportsplaza $160 plus shipping
partsshark $154 plus shipping
procaliber $149 FREE shippping ****

Edit. Proclaliber gave me another 5% off for being a 1St time customer.

I encouraged procaliber to contact the forum about a group discount. The guy I spoke with said he would pass the information to his boss.

 

[swatski]

Man, that is a great impeller find!

 

[dan144k]

@buckbuck
I was worried I would need to buy a plasma cutter to get off the bad impeller. To get back on the water within the day.

I was personally surprised how well it cut through the solas, helped that one blade was missing already.

Never used cutting wheels much, always been a sawzall and bandsaw kinda guy.

 

[swatski]

@dan144k I think they may be finally getting to the bottom of the Solas impeller batches imploding.
This appears to be a fairly sensitive issue for Solas. You may actually have a shot at getting at least some money back -- apparently the way to start the process is by contacting the dealer/vendor who sold you the impeller.
Anyway, just a thought.
http://www.greenhulk.net/forums/showthread.php?t=250828&page=26

--

 

[Oliver]

Hi
Can anyone advise how the get the impeller off the shaft. I broke a tool and there is no hint that a new one would withstand.

 

[Oliver]

This is more than a small problem of cutting the impeller off. I am a pilot and in aviation the sudden stop of an engine is called a prop strike, which means the engine is doomed - an aviation engine is not allowed to return back to service after a prop strike until it is disassembled and the engine camshaft is replaced. The real damage of this broken impeller it is actually in tens of thousands of dollars. As, there is no requirement in boating to check the engine, if the engine fails while I am offshore where I actually spend most of my time it can result in loss of boat and life.

 

[djetok]

This is more than a small problem of cutting the impeller off. I am a pilot and in aviation the sudden stop of an engine is called a prop strike, which means the engine is doomed - an aviation engine is not allowed to return back to service after a prop strike until it is disassembled and the engine camshaft is replaced. The real damage of this broken impeller it is actually in tens of thousands of dollars. As, there is no requirement in boating to check the engine, if the engine fails while I am offshore where I actually spend most of my time it can result in loss of boat and life.

If you add @swatski or anyone else in the thread I'm sure they will help you through it.

 

[swatski]

@Oliver Holy crap.... This I have never seen before...
I don't know if the engine is doomed. There are numerous numerous accounts of what you call here a "prop strike" due to ingestion of stuff into the pump - stopping the engines cold. As long as your Timing Chain can withstand it, you are most likely fine. These are interference engines so if the TC goes, everything else does too.
I think your only option with the impeller is to cut it off, with a minimum heat - I would worry about the shaft bearing (inside the pump/forward of the cone).
WOW!

I don't knwo if anyone here has had that happen in quite the same fashion. I don't like greenhulk anymore, and hate to recommend posting there, but you might get some advise there - with this impeller. There was a batch of Solas that were disintegrating, and several shops were involved in dealing with the aftermath.

--

 

[djetok]

@Oliver Holy crap.... This I have never seen before...
I don't know if the engine is doomed. There are numerous numerous accounts of what you call here a "prop strike" due to ingestion of stuff into the pump - stopping the engines cold. As long as your Timing Chain can withstand it, you are most likely fine. These are interference engines so if the TC goes, everything else does too.
I think your only option with the impeller is to cut it off, with a minimum heat - I would worry about the shaft bearing (inside the pump/forward of the cone).
WOW!

I don't knwo if anyone here has had that happen in quite the same fashion. I don't like greenhulk anymore, and hate to recommend posting there, but you might get some advise there - with this impeller. There was a batch of Solas that were disintegrating, and several shops were involved in dealing with the aftermath.

--

That was quick like a bat signal

 

[scokill]

I subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it camp". I guess if you NEED to change impellers away from stock, like altitude, lack of availability, etc. you gotta do what you gotta do, but I have never seen the benefit of changing just to tinker.

 

[Oliver]

This is more than a small problem of cutting the impeller off. I am a pilot and in aviation the sudden stop of an engine is called a prop strike, which means the engine is doomed - an aviation engine is not allowed to return back to service after a prop strike until it is disassembled and the engine camshaft is replaced. The real damage of this broken impeller it is actually in tens of thousands of dollars. As, there is no requirement in boating to check the engine, if the engine fails while I am offshore where I actually spend most of my time it can result in loss of boat and life.

@Oliver Holy crap.... This I have never seen before...
I don't know if the engine is doomed. There are numerous numerous accounts of what you call here a "prop strike" due to ingestion of stuff into the pump - stopping the engines cold. As long as your Timing Chain can withstand it, you are most likely fine. These are interference engines so if the TC goes, everything else does too.
I think your only option with the impeller is to cut it off, with a minimum heat - I would worry about the shaft bearing (inside the pump/forward of the cone).
WOW!

I don't knwo if anyone here has had that happen in quite the same fashion. I don't like greenhulk anymore, and hate to recommend posting there, but you might get some advise there - with this impeller. There was a batch of Solas that were disintegrating, and several shops were involved in dealing with the aftermath.
New impeller.
--

Thank you for advice I will try an angle grinders in the morning. I will replace the other impeller for now with my old impeller until I get two new ones.
When I saw the damage I thought too we sucked something in the jetpump, but retrospectively it is unlikely in the clean off shore bluewater of Australia. I installed these impeller pitched for speed to replace the original ones which I thought were slightly worn out (however, after two years of use with my 2015 boat they don't have the smallest dent in the blades). It was the fourth trip with the new impellers and on two occasions I was 20-30miles offshore; on this occasion we were testing a freshly installed 1kw transducer we installed the night before and purposely were trying to get to deep water. Fortunately the impeller broke on the way back when we got closer to the shore. After a short break, just when we put the throttle in near full power to get planning we heard a bang and the right engine stopped and remained jammed, until I removed the impeller next day. It was a painfully long return of several hour on one engine at 4mph.
I am not here to argue but if you were familiar with aviation this is the law - FAA or elsewhere - an engine that stops due to propeller strike is not airworthy; obviously if you are in a boat you will not fall out of the sky but for someone who adventures off shore the loss of the engine may have a different outcome.

 

[Oliver]

I finally got it out after cutting it and replaced with the original Yamaha impellers - a brand new 2015 Yamaha 242 Limited S sustained so much damage after going out on the water three times with Solas impellers. Must have been a "bad cast" is the answer from the vendor, David Stewart. They don't even cover the postage or the case damage, ... very bad choice.

If you want to save yourself a lot of trouble forget Solas impellers - very bad choice; stay with the manufacturers parts. It does not cost you just the impeller replacement cost but your engine replacement in the happiest case and maybe your boat and your life and your passengers life. Don't listen to the ones who tell you there is no damage to the engine, learn from others mistakes; here is the opinion of the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) experts and every other aviation organisation in the world, nut just mine (I am an test pilot and experimental aircraft builder and I know what I am talking):

Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) 1988 Division 9 – Maintenance releases
• Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASR) 1998 – Regulation 21.007A
• Australian Airworthiness Directive AD/LYC/89
• FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin NE-06-32R1
• Lycoming Service Bulletin No. 533B
• Teledyne Continental Motors Service Bulletin SB96-11B
• McCauley Governors Service Bulletin 215C
• Slick Magneto Maintenance and Overhaul Manual
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular AC-43.13-1B Chapter 8. Engines, fuel, exhaust and propellers.
Note: An incomplete review of the information provided in this AWB can cause errors. It is strongly recommended that
.......
In other words, the propeller strike can be a precursor to a catastrophic failure later in the engine’s life as the full extent of any damage may not become immediately apparent. The loads induced during a propeller strike can set up a series of microscopic stress fractures within various engine components that, over time, will accelerate fatigue with ultimate failure occurring without warning under otherwise benign conditions

Oliver

 

[Ronnie]

Here are a few pics of a repitched Solas impeller that failed on me last year. My wife was driving just before the failure and got close to as well as ran over many floating items that I pointed out. Yes you read the forgoing correctly. Long story short, I anchored next to the nearest boat ramp, took an Uber ride 50 miles to my tow vehicle and trailer and drove back to the ramp to pickup the boat and my wife. Instead of getting home at 5 that afternoon we got back at closer to 11.
I have since replaced the impeller with a new one repitched by impros. The replacement impeller now reaches higher rpms than the other impeller throughout the throttle ranges. I have stock impellers installed now and will work on getting the new impeller repitched during the next off season.

One tip I got off line possibly from greenhulk.com is to leave the solas coupler/sleeve (which smooths the transition from the front of the impeller to the shaft) off. For some reason top speed is reduced very slightly (one or two mph) with the coupler/sleeve installed.

 

[Oliver]

The second impeller follows the fate of the first in less than 200 hours. This time I worked out an easier way to get rid of the broken impeller and I was back in the water the next day.