Who would be interested in a group buy on impellers?

[Bruce]

I am thinking about replacing my impellers and pump housings. I bet I am not the only one. My hope is that they will recover a few mph that my boat is missing. My engines spin up to full RPM but the boat tops out lower than it should. Others may want different impellers to gain speed at elevation. The best prices I see online are around $400 for a pair of Solas impellers plus another $400 for housings with replaceable plastic liners. Plus there may be additional cost to have the pitch of one impeller adjusted. The plastic liners will be cut out by the impellers to fit perfectly and are inexpensive to replace in the future. If several of us want to do so we might be able to get a discount.

So who might be interested?

If you have replaced your impellers please let us know how it worked for you.

 

[Scottintexas]

I also probably need a new set, I would prefer solas instead of stock,

 

[Bruce]

I also probably need a new set, I would prefer solas instead of stock,

I certainly agree on using Solas. I believe the pump housings with plastic wear rings are made by RIVA.

 

[Scottintexas]

http://www.solasimpellers.com/yamaha-boat-impeller.html

this is above my level of understanding but our manual call for different pitches on the impeller and all the aftermarket ones only sell the one pitch,

If they have to change the pitch on the second one do they actually bend the blades? can they do that before they ship if we give them the figures?

I remember reading previous posts where people were expected to try them, figure the rpm difference and send them back to be repitched,

 

[motorboater]

You may want to consider Impros for the buy. They can custom pitch them as needed, and already have all the data to do so. No messing around. Regarding the wear rings, most boats will not need any attention in this area.

 

[DCB-270]

You may want to consider Impros for the buy. They can custom pitch them as needed, and already have all the data to do so. No messing around. Regarding the wear rings, most boats will not need any attention in this area.

What gains did you get with the Solas on your boat? I had them on my Exciter and Lx2000 and was very pleased. Been thinking of getting them for my SS.

 

[Chillypilot]

I might be interested on new Solas impellers. My housings look like they are in good shape do they need to be replaced if you put in new impellers or is that optional?

 

[aarons1k]

Do the stock Yamaha housing have replacement wear rings like seadoo?

 

[smthng]

I may be interested, but won't know for a couple weeks... boat is trapped behind drying concrete and I haven't had a chance to run her since the clean out plug replacements... if the wife says the boat feels sluggish, I'm in! ☺

 

[motorboater]

I might be interested on new Solas impellers. My housings look like they are in good shape do they need to be replaced if you put in new impellers or is that optional?

With a feeler gauge measure clearance between each impeller blade and the housing. Clearance limit is .024 in or .6mm.

 

[motorboater]

What gains did you get with the Solas on your boat? I had them on my Exciter and Lx2000 and was very pleased. Been thinking of getting them for my SS.

I told Impros to pitch them for no, or very little, change in top speed. I think I lost a couple MPH but its hard to tell with varying conditions. However I did gain gobs of low and mid torque. I also use less fuel and have a lot less vibration from the pumps. You'll also notice the boat crawling more at idle, even with correctly adjusted buckets which can be seen as a negative I suppose. No Wake speeds are also a little higher. All of this is a result of more efficient impeller blade design over the original impellers.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

the stock housings have non-replaceable stainless liners. i just redid both of my pumps. one housing was the SBT with the plastic liner and the other was bubbling from corrosion (which they are prone to). i had planned to make them both SBT, but after a lot of research and debate, i opted to pay for the more expensive OEM housings. yes, the plastic liners will wear and seat into the impeller, but from what i've read, they are easily destroyed from debris and their lifespan are short. the steel impeller doesn't give, so anything caught in them can score the heck out of the plastic liner (even shred it to pieces). scoring isn't a terrible thing, just costs an hour of work and $40 to change out. but the OEM housing will destroy the majority of junk sucked up like a garbage disposal. it basically balances out, in my opinion. in the end, the reason i chose the OEM was the fact that Yamaha opted to use the more expensive option rather than lowering the retail price of the boats.

had SBT rework my impellers for $60 each and they look great. can't wait to see the difference of the tight tolerances!

 

[sysinu]

I bought a second set. Had them custom pitched and my first outing showed a slight improvement to my top speed (before I pulled off the deflector and reverse gate) .. Long story.

I have 2 sets now. One high altitude and another that is pitched for 3500' altitude. (Taking into account some boat mods I have made)

After having them re pitched I didn't notice any crawling or cavitation vibration changes but maybe it varies by altitude and boat type.


Edit: note that impros just moved locations. I don't know if they are still behind and playing catch up on orders.

 

[OperationROL]

the stock housings have non-replaceable stainless liners. i just redid both of my pumps. one housing was the SBT with the plastic liner and the other was bubbling from corrosion (which they are prone to). i had planned to make them both SBT, but after a lot of research and debate, i opted to pay for the more expensive OEM housings. yes, the plastic liners will wear and seat into the impeller, but from what i've read, they are easily destroyed from debris and their lifespan are short. the steel impeller doesn't give, so anything caught in them can score the heck out of the plastic liner (even shred it to pieces). scoring isn't a terrible thing, just costs an hour of work and $40 to change out. but the OEM housing will destroy the majority of junk sucked up like a garbage disposal. it basically balances out, in my opinion. in the end, the reason i chose the OEM was the fact that Yamaha opted to use the more expensive option rather than lowering the retail price of the boats.

had SBT rework my impellers for $60 each and they look great. can't wait to see the difference of the tight tolerances!

Not sure of your source that says the plastic wear ring inserts will shred to pieces, but from someone that actually has had experience with them, I can tell you they do not and I don't understand how it would even be possible. Your impellers would have to be grossly out of balance to hurt the housing that badly. At that point you would have bigger issues. They have been on my previous boat for over 2 years and the boat still runs well. No cavitation, 10200+ RPM and hits 50 often. The new owners live 1 mile from me and I speak to them often. I know for a fact the boat is still performing well even after a couple years with the plastic inserts. my $.02

 

[thcole]

I would be interested in buying a set and will be watching this thread.

 

[Brian Spillane]

I would be in for a set !!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I gained 300 RPM after I replaced my impellers AND cone bearings. My impellers looked nearly perfect so I'm under the impression it was from the new bearings. I went with the stock impellers -- I need to change my signature! My boat never saw 10,200 rpm. I'm now at 10,000 rpm at WOT and dead calm water.

If you guys remove your pumps, check your cone bearings for resistance and noise. You'll hear it if you have a problem.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

Your impellers would have to be grossly out of balance to hurt the housing that badly. At that point you would have bigger issues.

sorry, i have no experience. but i was sold on plastic for weeks and then slowly converted to SS. the mishaps i read about had nothing to do with impeller alignment/balance. has to do with "junk in the pump." a stick could get wedged and score the plastic enough to have it lift and get mangled by the impeller. whereas, the stainless would have a better chance at pulverizing that same stick into toothpicks so well you'd never notice.
others have stated the wear rings will seat tight out of the gate, but they will wear further from a tight tolerance every minute from that point. a few replacements and you end up paying more than the SS. to me, it's not worth the hassle - the stainless is pretty much a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal.

 

[OperationROL]

This isnt posible if done correctly (At least the insert I used). The plastic insert is bigger than the housing opening. The insert has to be frozen first so that it can shrink and then it still has to be pounder in. The fit is so tight, there is no way something could get wedged behind it. If not for the color you would assume they are not separate. Something else is happening in the pic above. They probably used the wrong insert that was perhaps loose. If it were the right one this could not happen.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

@OperationROL i understand where you are coming from and you have even swayed me close to a neutral position on the options.
i had both in my boat simultaneously. i didn't know i had a plastic ring the first full season i owned the boat and had planned to replace both with the SBT option over the winter with an impeller refurb. when i pulled them and found one was plastic, i was less than impressed with the tolerance after it had "worn in," but still believed plastic was the smarter play. i figured i'd just replace the rings every season with the plugs and oil if i had to. after a few weeks of mulling it over, i was stuck on which route to take. i liked the give of the plastic, but really like the destructive force of the SS. in the end, my choice came down to Yamaha choosing SS when they could easily convert and sell thousands of plastic rings a year, plus bump up maintenance income for the dealerships.