F250 Water Pumps

[HDGWJOE]

Question: how many of you don't follow the 200hr recommendation for water pumps... and if you don't what do you do?

Also: I have the Yamaha shop manual and changing the water pump looks straight forward. Are there any "tricks" I should know? I've heard that sometimes the lower unit doesn't want to go back on easily???

 

[fishie1]

The lower unit doesn't always come off easily either - depending how frozen or corroded the bolts get.

 

[Stonewall]

Take a look here.... http://www.thehulltruth.com/shipyard-is ... hange.html


These are directions for the F200 but they are essentially the same. Ships Island was very helpful. The parts for one engine is about $50 and includes everything you need. Don't forget to order the grease for $13.00 too. My Son and I did our F250s last winter during the lay-up. The first one took us 45 mins beginning to end because we had trouble getting out the woodruff key. After chisels, hammers, awls, etc. we finally hit it with an air hammer and it popped right out. The 2nd one only took us 30 mins.

The lower units come off very easy. Just make sure the transmission is in neutral before you begin and don't move the levers until you are all back in place. When you are done and putting the lower end back on make sure it fits together without a gap. Unsder no circumstances should you try to pull it together with the bolts. If you have it lined up correctly, it should slide right in. The pictures in the link show the units on a Black and Decker workbench. Talk about easy. If you don't have one - go get one for this job. It really makes it easy.

Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help you through it.

 

[Strikezone]

Just make sure to grease the bolts before re-installing them and they should come out just fine next time.

Also, with the woodruff key I drill a small "dimple" on one end and place a steel punch in this dimple. A few whacks with a hammer will spin it out of the slot.

 

[Tuna Man]

I have the same engines and despite the fact that they only had about 150 hours on them I decided to take care of the water pumps. Main concern is what others are eluding to, the bolts and woodruff key are harder to remove the longer you wait. Not knowing the complete service records of the two engines, I was concerned what was done (or not done) in the past. It took me about 2.5 hours to do both water pumps by myself where I keep the boat during the winter. If the woodruff keys were not rusted in place, it would have taken me about half that time. Hopefully, next time the keys will come out a little easier and I will remember to bring the dremel.

Here is another related (sort of) example. We have a small skiff with a 1990 70 hp Yamaha that we put about 20 hours a year on. We have owned the boat for about six years. Until this summer I have never pulled the lower unit apart. I did not worry since the tell-tale (pisser) always had good flow, the engine never overheated and the hours of use were so low. The last time we used it we went water skiing and the the overheat alarm sounded as we were tying up to the dock. We pulled the boat and I attempted to take off the lower unit. Approximately four hours later I finally got it all apart and installed the new water pump kit I had sitin around. Apparentl the previous owner must have lost a bolt and decided to use one 'similar' to the original bolt. When this 'custom' bolt with allen key head (original was six sided hex head) snapped off, I knew it was going to be a long day. Every bolt (6 total) was siezed and the surrounding area had to be heated and the bolt carefully removed. All four of the water pump housing bolts were also difficult to break free. Oddy the woodruff key was easy to remove on thsi engine? My point is, despite the fact that there was probably less than 200 hours on this water pump, I should have not waited so long to change it.

 

[HDGWJOE]

Thanks for all the helpfull info... especially the step by step link and tips on what can happen if you wait too long or run into problems with removing certain parts... You guys gave me exactly what I was looking for... THANK YOU!!!

 

[CJBROWN]

I just ordered the parts from SIM to do mine - about 290 hours on the clock. I'll post on my results and any difficulties.

No issues with this motor thus far. Annual oil changes and gear lube, did plugs once - didn't need them. Kept the fuel filter changed, went to a racor with a bowl this year.

I also ordered out a new thermostat. I guess they're easy on the 150. The 225 has two and they're a bear. Interesting, the maint schedule says change the 'stat every year, but the pump impellor every other. I guess they can get salty and stick.

Thanks for the pointers stony, that helps a lot. I'm ready to tackle it.

BTW, Andy sent me another really good link for maint here:
www.bogueinletnc.com/yamaha

 

[CJBROWN]

300 hour service, first waterpump rebuild

Update as promised...300 hour service with waterpump rebuild.

Brought the boat home yesterday, my parts came, so tackled the pump impellor and rebuild last night. Without a hitch, no corrosion, no stuck bolts, no wear on the stainless parts and the impellor was hard to tell from the new one, just some set in the vanes. The rubber was still soft and pliable, no crumbling, flaking, nor cracking, and no wear on the ends. Frankly, was a waste of time and money, but oh well, I can ignore it for another 300 hours now.

I suspect the factory service interval has to account for motors that will run in a lot of silt or sand. I would think particles could get stuck in there and wear out the parts prematurely.

And all the extra parts I got I didn't need, like new pump bolts, washers collar, pump housing and plate. The key popped right out, I re-used the parts, will keep the new ones for the next impellor replacement.

I'll be doing the lower unit lube, oil and filter change, and pull the plugs to check and clean, inspect the piston tops.

I got sold on a thermostat, will pull that out but I'll bet it's fine too. Thermostats can be finicky though, they look fine on the outside but get stuck. So for $25 I'll just put the new one in there. They sure are a heavy duty looking little unit.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

keep it in forward gear is the best

this way you can index the crank to driveshaft by turning the prop!

 

[CJBROWN]

keep it in forward gear is the best

this way you can index the crank to driveshaft by turning the prop!

Yes, I imagine that might help. All of the tutorials say 'neutral'. I fiddled with the dang unit for about 5 minutes thinking I was going to have to drop it before my back gave out. It finally popped in. Works like a champ too.

Took a few pics of parts. The first is the 300 hour impellor:

And the 300 hour pump housing. I used the new one but kept this one for future use, there's nothing wrong with it:

The very best advice I got was the thermostat replacement. The old one was really caked with salt and corrosion, and behind it was a great big blob of salt-jello. YUK. Cleaned it all out and was glad I got to it. Now we know the flush port doesn't quite do the job, or maybe I'm just not running it long enough. I just can't see how it's going to flush out salt from behind the thermostat.

Went down to the bay and launched 'er at 5pm yesterday, purrs like a kitten. Cruised the harbor for a couple of hours and then came home. Very pleased with all my maintenance chores completed.

 

[Strikezone]

It's always a good feeling to get these maintenance items taken care of yourself. Looks like a couple of the vanes on the impeller have some cracking beginning to take place. Probably a good thing to get it replaced although it looks pretty good for 300 hours.

My thermostats always look the way yours do when I replace. Never had a problem with them however. I've been considering doing a Salt-A-Way treatment on mine to clean things out. Have a little over 700 hours on the engine and flush it regularly. Any thoughts on the necessity of this?

 

[CJBROWN]

I'm starting to get the feeling the best flush would be with muffs with enough pressure to make it pee, run it long enough to get warm enough for the thermostat to open, or just remove the thermostat and use the flush port.

I bought a plasic storage bin to run it in fresh water, but I still couldn't get the lower unit deep enough, so it wouldn't pee. Unless the upper drain ports are covered the water just runs back down the lower unit. If I hooked up the flush port too, then it would pee.

I was paranoid about the water output so that was a double reason to run down to the bay and test it. Backed 'er into the water and fired it up, spit LOTS of water. So everything is working well.

The flush thing has me peeved though. I guess running it every other trip in a lake is the answer :twisted:

I will be pulling that thermstat every year now for sure.

The vanes have a crease in them from being stuffed into the housing, but there's no cracking, no wear, and it was still soft and pliable much like the new one. They way I use my boat, 500 hours would have been fine. As I mentioned, I have no idea why they are requiring such frequent maint on them things. Oh well, cheap insurance. I would be P-O'd if I'd paid a guy a thousand bucks to do all my service, that's for sure.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

best flush is

flush hose and a big bucket with motor in it with dawn soap and vinegar
motor running


t-stats need to be checked every year, read the owners manual

when i check things, i replace things, why waste my time checking!!