Not so simple impeller change.

[artificialreef]

Dang folks, i am about to get Medieval on this outdrive. I tried to do a simple impeller change and the allen bolt underneith the zinc somehow welded itself to the casing. The thumbnails are my fancyboy outdrive lift holding it upside down. (would have looked nicer right side up) I am now trying to drill that bolt out and the shaft is getting in the way of a true drill. I know the standard answer will be read the manual, but. Is it very difficult for a shade tree to pull that shaft out? Looks like i may need a special tool to turn that big lock ring, but i have a welder and can fab. Made special tools for Hyundais and toyotas. Thank you.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

what drive?


if it were my mc-1. i think i'd attack the zinc it self. probably with a die grinder. maybe a cut off wheel of some kind. make the zinc go away.

somehow, i'm missing the thumbnails.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Its a mercruiser R-one. My firefox wont seem to let me upload any thumbnails. I am drilling the sh@t out of the stainless bolt. Havent done any damage yet.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

The Zinc is allready removed. I am drilling into the stainless bolt underneath that and its not pretty.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Anyone ever have to do this before?

 

[dubs283]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

you will either need to get creative with a grinder, or use a cobalt drill - hss will just spin and smoke

if you do grind, be very careful to not damage the case - it is aluminum and will go bye bye fast

 

[ziggy]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Anyone ever have to do this before?

i've not drilled that specific bolt before. but i've drilled ss 1/4-20's off the water pocket cover before.

fwiw, best i can say is, keep the drill bit sharp. keep the drill speed slow, and lub the bolt being drilled often.

if only dust comes off when drilling, your not accomplishing much. the ss will cut w/slow speed, lub and a sharp bit... my guess is you'll get good at sharpening your drill bit.. at least that's what happened when i was drilling ss.. good luck.

ps, for the pics, go do the photobucket thing. then ya can just paste in the url and poof, your pic will be here.

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

To be the first to actually answer your question, no you can't get the prop shaft out without splitting the drives, as the driveshaft and pinion gear have to come out first. That said, you CAN remove the carrier, and the propshaft will move enough to get a straight shot with a drill. Then the lower will have to be completely disassembled, cleaned, and resealed. Good luck.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Holy Schmoly, I got the HSS bolt to let go without any damage. Just for reference for everyone else. I started out drilling into it with a 3/32 yellow drill bit. Before i got to the aluminum i had a bad feeling that it would walk. I then said to myself i am hosed. I pulled out the big drill bit and just drilled the allen head out. I had a cheap harb=garbarge easy out that just snapped the head off and i was able to seperate the upper from the lower. Bottom line it was not necessary to drill the whole bolt out, just destroy the top allen head and seperate. Side note, the impeller had absolutley no fins on it. It was a round rubber donut. Wish me luck with this 470 folks.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Found a tube in there that was melted. I guess i should have a look at the flapper. Do i have to buy some gaskets to take a look at the flappers on a Merc R-one?

 

[cr2k]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Flappers are in the top of the y tube or single exhaust tube. You will probably have to pull the elbow(s) to see them so yes you will need elbow gaskets. When you do this look at the elbow gaskets and replace with the same ones that came off, and in the same orientation you will be better off then changing to a diff style and upsetting your water flow.

With the condition of your impeller it is IMPERATIVE that you find EVERY piece of the old impeller. Where? PS cooler, thermostat housing (there is a passage in there that you can't see too) any little piece can and will find it's way to somewhere to be a problem.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

The OP has a 470, so you will have to check for those impeller pieces in the seawater side of the cooling system.

The voltage reg. if you still have it, and the heat exchanger end covers should be removed and checked for pieces.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Thank you all that replied to my post. Not really what i wanted to hear but, didnt come here for a candy coated answer. When i split the case all i found was 1/2 of 1 fin, so the rest are upstream. Thanks again for bringing that to my attention. Looking down at my shoes now.......bummed...
Side note, not water cooled reg.

 

[artificialreef]

Re: Not so simple impeller change.

Well regarding my hss drill job. I used the 3/32 deep enough to just penetrate the top of the bolt where it met the aluminum. That weakened the connection to the bolt head enough for me drill it out and hammer an easy out onto the head to snap it off. It wasnt really just dumb luck.