Dry run water pump damage?

[99yam40]

I am kind of late to the party, but the discoloration could be just age on the plastic.
Did you notice the discoloration when you changed the impeller 6 months ago?

or are you like me and cannot remember what the housing looked like last time you worked on it

[robert graham]

I am kind of late to the party, but the discoloration could be just age on the plastic.
Did you notice the discoloration when you changed the impeller 6 months ago?

or are you like me and cannot remember what the housing looked like last time you worked on it

It was definitely heat discoloration...like a mild surface melting....couldn't be removed with solvents, abrasives or scraping with a blade....I'll replace it with a new one just so I don't have to think about it when I'm 50 miles down the river somewhere....

[BQUICK]

The British Seagull motors had a metal water pump impeller. The owners manual said you could run it out of water for a while. Never heard of anyone ever replacing one.
Wonder why newer outboards couldn't run a similar pump....that we would never have to replace...ooops I know why....water pump jobs make $$$.

[robert graham]

Well, I installed a new pump housing and a new impeller today(about $60 worth of parts)....but what I learned is that a dry run of maybe 15 to 20 seconds is enough to melt that plastic pump housing and damage the impeller....I consider this a fairly cheap($60) lesson of the operation of the motor....Never run'em dry!

[oldmako69]

I'd replace the entire engine. It's bound to fail at any minute. It might lock up at high RPM and the torque might be enough to rip the transom of the boat. There might be sharks. Danger, Will Robinson.

[robert graham]

I'd replace the entire engine. It's bound to fail at any minute. It might lock up at high RPM and the torque might be enough to rip the transom of the boat. There might be sharks. Danger, Will Robinson.

Think you're right!....time for a new boat and motor!....

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Well, I installed a new pump housing and a new impeller today(about $60 worth of parts)....but what I learned is that a dry run of maybe 15 to 20 seconds is enough to melt that plastic pump housing and damage the impeller....I consider this a fairly cheap($60) lesson of the operation of the motor....Never run'em dry!

Good to know for CERTAIN. Can you post a pic or two?

[pstephens46]

It was definitely heat discoloration...like a mild surface melting....couldn't be removed with solvents, abrasives or scraping with a blade....I'll replace it with a new one just so I don't have to think about it when I'm 50 miles down the river somewhere....

I have the original 12 year old pump housing. It looks like it has chewed tobacco for 50 years.

[boscoe99]

It will never be known how many more hours of service the existing water pump would have provided.

Yamaha appreciates your money. $60 here, $60 there, a few thousand times, and it all adds up.

[robert graham]

In this case it was entirely my fault....not paying attention to what you're doing can be expensive. I've been running this motor since it was new without any issues or problems at all and then I gotta pull something dumb....but it's all O.K. Now and I doubt I'll be running the motor dry again any time Soon.

[robert graham]

Good to know for CERTAIN. Can you post a pic or two?

I don't know how to do photos, but you probably know what a C90 looks like and mine looks mostly like new...sorta like the way you keep your motors and cycles like new....

[TownsendsFJR1300]

It will never be known how many more hours of service the existing water pump would have provided.

Yamaha appreciates your money. $60 here, $60 there, a few thousand times, and it all adds up.

You'd run yours like that after seeing the damage??? (Brave guy, gambling with that.)..


I paid 14K for my engine 11 years ago... My type 3 balancer started a slight whine with low hours...

Did I want to drop $400 for a type 4 (just the part)? Not in particular... But I did..

My noise went away, now I know it won't explode and destroy the engine.

$400 is a bit cheaper the $14K PLUS (nowadays), CHEAP INSURANCE..


$60 even CHEAPER INSURANCE (and Robert knew the part was cooked)...Cheap enough lesson IMO..

[walleye1]

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  #42
  20 minutes ago
  Originally posted by boscoe99 View Post
  It will never be known how many more hours of service the existing water pump would have provided.
  
  Yamaha appreciates your money. $60 here, $60 there, a few thousand times, and it all adds up.
  You'd run yours like that after seeing the damage??? (Brave guy, gambling with that.)..
  
  
  I paid 14K for my engine 11 years ago... My type 3 balancer started a slight whine with low hours...
  
  Did I want to drop $400 for a type 4 (just the part)? Not in particular... But I did..
  
  My noise went away, now I know it won't explode and destroy the engine.
  
  $400 is a bit cheaper the $14K PLUS (nowadays), CHEAP INSURANCE..
  
  
  $60 even CHEAPER INSURANCE (and Robert knew the part was cooked)...Cheap enough lesson IMO..
  Last edited by TownsendsFJR1300; 18 minutes ago.

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[rodbolt17]

in 30 yrs of outboard maint I have seen exactly two that simply wore out.
I cannot tell you how many powerheads I have replaced due to neglected cooling and fuel systems.
I had to condem a customers F250 last year.
he bought it new from us.
last year he had some overheating issues.
3300 hrs and 9 years on the original pump.
problem was after two hours of heating and beating to get the bolts out, the driveshaft and crankshaft are married and wont divorce.
had he at least once per year or maybe even every other year he would be happy. as it is he had to buy another motor. he did not have the 1500 bucks or so for me to cut and remove the shaft.
like I say, it is your machine, you own it.

[boscoe99]

in 30 yrs of outboard maint I have seen exactly two that simply wore out.
I cannot tell you how many powerheads I have replaced due to neglected cooling and fuel systems.
I had to condem a customers F250 last year.
he bought it new from us.
last year he had some overheating issues.
3300 hrs and 9 years on the original pump.
problem was after two hours of heating and beating to get the bolts out, the driveshaft and crankshaft are married and wont divorce.
had he at least once per year or maybe even every other year he would be happy. as it is he had to buy another motor. he did not have the 1500 bucks or so for me to cut and remove the shaft.
like I say, it is your machine, you own it.

Great testimony as to the durability of the water pumps. They can take a licking and keep on ticking.

Great testimony as to the need for some preventative maintenance. If all he had done was to remove the lower unit, dab some grease on the drive shaft splines, and then reinstall the lower unit, who knows how long the motor would have lived.

On the other hand, he got 3300 hours out of the motor. Many would consider that to be a bargain. If I were a commercial guy I would anticipate getting X number of hours from a motor. If I got that many then well and good. If I got more, then that is simply a bonus. If I got less then that is simply the luck of the draw. 3300 hours and nine years might be considered adequate for the life of a motor.

For the average motor owner who has not a clue, it is good advice for him to have the water pump inspected yearly or every 100 hours. For some that is too many hours. For some it is not enough. For those that have some experience with motors there are a number of ways to determine the health of the cooling system without having to inspect the water pump.