Parts
61A-W0078-A3-00WATER PUMP REPAIR$44.64
Labor 1.5 hours $80 /hour $120.00
Supplies, rags, etc... 15.00

Total $179.64

Hose Pricing- add up difference.

I did my Yammie the first time myself in 2 hours and I am not to good with mechanics. Every boater should be able to do this job himself, then judge when the next change out should occur. Standard operating life is at minimal 100 hours unless you run sand through it often, or accidentely run it dry, even for a few seconds. Personally I would get a manuel and do it yourself and save your self some money for bait and fuel and have peace of mind as well. 100 hours is about a year for my bay boat, and though the impeller vanes look good, cracking due to plastic aging is obvious so this is my manintence schedule for replacement. I run shallow often and don't wish to ever be stranded, so I change mine @100 hours. Maybe they never changed your impeller the first time.?? I would always ask for the old impeller part if you choose to pay to have it done.

 

shouldn't have to ask for old parts, mt houston has always gave me the parts they took off.

 

Parts
61A-W0078-A3-00WATER PUMP REPAIR$44.64
Labor 1.5 hours $80 /hour $120.00
Supplies, rags, etc... 15.00

Total $179.64

Hose Pricing- add up difference.

I did my Yammie the first time myself in 2 hours and I am not to good with mechanics. Every boater should be able to do this job himself, then judge when the next change out should occur. Standard operating life is at minimal 100 hours unless you run sand through it often, or accidentely run it dry, even for a few seconds. Personally I would get a manuel and do it yourself and save your self some money for bait and fuel and have peace of mind as well. 100 hours is about a year for my bay boat, and though the impeller vanes look good, cracking due to plastic aging is obvious so this is my manintence schedule for replacement. I run shallow often and don't wish to ever be stranded, so I change mine @100 hours. Maybe they never changed your impeller the first time.?? I would always ask for the old impeller part if you choose to pay to have it done.

I always figured they had a bucket of old parts to give customers. LOL

 

It sounds like your impeller had a short life to me. To add to "bobber's" comments about running it dry...a buddy told me if you have the earmuffs and hose hooked up to the motor, make sure you start it at idle. He gave is a little throttle when he started his and burned his impeller up too...even with water going to his motor.

Also, last weekend I hooked up the ear muffs to mine and started the motor. There wasn't any water coming out of the discharge port on the cowling. I shut it off immediately. Repositioned my muffs, fired it up again. Saw less water spraying out the sides of the muffs but no water out of the discharge port. Shut it off. Ended up cleaning out the discharge port using a small wire and found a small spider web. Fired it up a 3rd time with water shooting out of the discharge port. Strong pressure, but not the volume I normally see.

I looked around and found water exiting above the lower unit. Plans are to pull the lower unit off and check the rubber grommet on the top side of water pump. I'm thinking that the system pressurized the first 2 times and caused something to either break or become unseated...even though I only ran it less than 1 minute w/o water coming out of the discharge port. I'm also going to check the impeller and will probably buy a kit to replace it.

The moral to the story, make sure when you hook up the muffs, make a good note as to where water is coming out. Always check volume and look for leakages.

I hope this helps. I definitely don't want anyone else to make the same rookie mistakes.

Ps - I attached a picture showing where I saw the water exiting.

 

Guppie, Do you have a water pressure gauge? If not, get one. They really help to determine what's going on. In your case I would check the poppet/relief valve and the thermostates for crud and seagrass. You can have a good tale tell stream and show water pressure and still have a cylinder head get hot from blockage. But if you have pressure you know it's not the water pump. Did this shop use geniune Yamaha parts or Sierra junk? If the later, yes it could be worn out. In any event please do not go back to them again.

rr1496,
That is water returning back down the speedometer pick up and quite normal. It's real hard to get it back together water tight after the first dissasembly. It's the impellor pick up tube thats real important to make sure it goes where it should.

 

What kind of boat are you running it on? Leaving the boat in the water for 5 days shouldn't have anything to do with the problem. Yamaha water pumps are known for becoming slightly loose in the housing and losing suction.

I would definitely ask around and find a good shade tree boat mechanic that is highly recommended. I buy the parts and my mechanic replaces it for $48.

As someone else mentioned, install a water pressure guage and you can detect when the water pump is going bad without it overheating. Also, take your thermometers off and boil them in water to see if they open up.

 

thanks for advice and information

Thanks to everyone for their responses. Sounds like I need to have a water pressure gauge installed and learn how to replace myself.

guppie

 

If you have run it in any type of sand in shallow water where the sand got kicked up into the water intake, sometimes the impeller will die prematurely just like running it dry.

 

I change mine every other year but my boat is not run in shallow water or exposed to sand except when launching. A bay boat frequently plowing sand or running in agitated sandy water would need to be replaced more often. A water pressure gauge as mentioned will indicate a change from the pressure registered when the impeller is new and should give you some advance warning that replacement is needed.

I always buy the mechanics manual when purchasing a new motor. Replacing the water pump is easy but having the manual lets you be sure something is not forgotten.

My impeller looks new after 2 years with about 150+ hours on it but its so inexpense to replace there is no reason to take a chance getting stranded.

 

Sand shouldn't be a problem with my motor as it is used exclusively offshore. I actually have the manual for my motor, just not the confidence to do it myself. I need to just bite the bullet and replace it myself next time.

 

Yamaha's are easy because the shift shaft is splined and comes apart at the lower unit. Not like the old evinrude/johnsons where the shift shaft had to be disconnected below the engine carburators. A small wire brush will allow you to clean gunk off the bolt threads so they will go back easy. Also a small amount of never-seize on the lower unit main bolts will make them easier to remove next time the water pump is changed. One bolt is hidden under the rubber cap on the back of the lower unit. This will also release the trim tab so mark it with a marks-a-lot so it is put back in the same position. Make note of the direction impeller fingers are bent when in the housing so the new one is installed the same way. The only other item to watch is to make sure you have the woodruff key in or the pump will not work. This is the small half moon key that fits in the drive shaft and fits into the keyway cut into the impeller.

By the way - on a 200 the lower unit is heavy(50#). An extra pair of hands is useful but not manditory.

good luck

 

Capt PB

Thank you for your reply and concern. I need some help understanding...I guess more peace of mind through clarification. To describe in a little more detail of my situation, when the motor is off and the water is entering the inlet via earmuffs, I see no water coming out of this area. When the motor is running and muffs on, water is exiting this area.



Does this still sound right? Does the speedometer work only when the motor is on?



When I look down the hole where the water is coming out, to me it appears as if I'm looking at the top of the water pump…thus my thinking that something isn't seated right on the water line leaving the pump. I have very little experience with outboards and make no claim of being even close to an expert. So, I will welcome any advice/expertise from you or anyone.



I do have a service manual at home for this motor that I bought from iboats.com…I thought I needed it to make up for the lack of intelligence. I will have some time this weekend to work on the motor and plan on looking through the manual. Your comments have sparked my interest.



Thanks,



RR

 

I am of a slightly different opinion. The anual change out of the impellor, in is my estimation over rated in it's importance, and in some cases is asking for problems. With typical/consistent use, there is no reason an impellor should not last at least 5 years. I do agree however that a water pressure guage is essential in monitoring the "health" of your impellor. I think the old attage of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" applys to water pump impellors. I believe when it comes to impellors, the more freqeuntly you change it, the more likely you are to experience a problem.

Guppie, the impellor problem you experienced could be from any number of things. Improper installation, defective impellor, etc etc. Maybe just a random occurance, any body's guess really, impellors are fickel little rascals. Best of luck with it.

 

i agree with lwg all the way , i am in shallow and have 200 hrs on mine and not changing it for awhile. when you hook up the water make sure the water is on for few sec to fill all voids since an impellor will burn in 20 sec when dry. I am all saltwater.
once i bought a mt bike and broke the chain in less than 1hr since then i have several hundered hours on my new chain .

 

That's alot of money to pay for an impellor to be replaced! I normally have mine replaced when I see the water pressure start to drop...I've got a water pressure gauge. Needing to replace it has everything to do with how and where you run your boat. With you running it offshore sand shouldn't be an issue. Mine is in the sand or mud quiet often so I have to replace it more often.

Suggestion...I'm not very mechanically inclined either. On my last boat I had a friend help me change it while I helped/watched. It's not hard once you see it done.

Late,
Cox

 

I just had mine done this Spring because I bought a used boat 2 years ago and didn't know when it was done last. I was having a seasonal tune-up done and in casual talk asked how much it would be. He said under $150. So as I watched, he dropped my LU and took my impeller out and it had some wear on it. Since I run mostly offshore, he said try it yourself in about 3 years. (That's an honest boat mechanic to me - Acie's)

 

I would do it at minimal 2 years or the bolts and parts may become to coroded out. My first change out one of the fins was tearing at 100 hours. My last change out it was all my 100 hours (bought used), and the impeller looked pretty good, but had some micro cracks . Next time I may push it to 125 hours. Such a cheap part, its not worth the risk to stretch the life, especially since it is the heart of your machine. I could project my impeller would fail before reaching 200 hours. Hear they fail all at once, blowing pieces up into chamber, so doubt a water pressure gauge is always going to help that much.

 

rr, If it makes you feel any better, mine does it to after pulling the LU. The hole your looking down is where the shift rod spline/connection and speedo pick up tube pass through. The waterpump is on the driveshaft, which is about center inside the midsection. It cannot be seen unless dissasembled. I still get 25psi when running.
As bobber stated, corrosion is the biggest reason to change waterpumps. Expecially Yamaha's. The drive shafts like to get stuck if not sepperated every so often. The woodruff key likes to get corroded and stuck in the drive shaft. Which must be torched out and then reseal the shaft. If done with some frequency these two things are never an issue and the job can be down in an hour or less for only $60 using genuine Yamaha waterpump kits.

 

Stick the woodruff key in place with some bearing grease before dropping the impeller down on top of it. It will hold the key in place, and make it easy to remove next time.

 

I replaced mine awhile back.
It's a 130 Johnson but, it should give you some idea of what all is involved.
http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=50890&page=1&pp=10
--Hop

 

Thanks everyone.

Guppie