stuck impeller and clearances

[BCFISHON1]

pulled the shoe to check things out and i cant get the impeller off,do i need a puller?,also what kind of clearance do i need between impeller and shoe?should there be a wear ring in the shoe of a outboard motor/jet because mine is just aluminum and my old boat had a inboard motor with a 2 stage pump and it had stainless wear rings,thanks for any info

[Bloomy]

Not sure on the clearance but I know you can find it online. You will need a feeler gauge for it. As far as getting the impeller off, when I bought my boat (used) I switched the impeller out. It was stuck on there. I called the place I bought the impeller from and they told me to heat the impeller but not the shaft and then try to pry it off. It didnt work. Finally got a rope around the impeller (not easy) and used a come along to pop it off. Just becareful not to bend the shaft or your sol. Hope this helps.

[BCFISHON1]

thanks Bloomy,im going to use a gear puller that pushes on the center of the shaft while pulling on the impeller,i just dont want to ruin the impeller,also wondering about sharpening the impeller,im going to do some research online as you also suggested,thanks again.

[fishingls]

Here is the manufacturer's web site http://www.outboardjets.com/index.php

Under the section FAQ the site will give clearance specs.

It will help you with drawings and specs. Be careful using a gear puller on the impeller. It is aluminum and easily broken. If your motor is a 150HP or greater, contact Wooldridge boats for a stainless replacement. It is worth the money spent if you have a larger motor.

additional from the web site on stuck impeller

9. How do you get a frozen impeller off of the driveshaft?

There is a plastic bushing which centers the impeller on the shaft. The impeller never sticks to the shaft, but the drive key will stick in the impeller. On current design, we use a key with a tee cross section which rests on a flat, milled to the end of the driveshaft, including the thread.The impeller with the key in it will slide off the end of the shaft. Under torque, the key cams itself against the flat on the shaft. It is usually necessary to bump the impeller counter clockwise on the shaft until the keyway is perpendicular to the flat, (centered over the flat). Two 3/4 x 1 1/2 x 12 inch pine levers against the housing flange will slide the impeller off.
On earlier designs where the keyway in the shaft traps the key, and it is also stuck in the impeller, it is necessary to drill out the brass key to free the impeller. Use a 3/16 drill in the large series and a 1/8 drill on the medium and small series.

[adobe wall]

If it has been a long time since the impeller was removed, you won't get it off by tapping it per the manufacturer's instructions, or using a gear puller.

There is a very thin plastic sleeve that is installed between the impeller and the shaft. If the impeller is truly stuck, you'll need a torch (not a handheld propane torch) to heat the impeller enough to melt that sleeve. Once it is melted, the impeller will come right off. Go easy with the heat so as not to ruin the temper of the shaft.

I tried tapping it for a couple days, then a gear puller, then propane. None worked. Cost me about $50 if I recall correctly to have a local shop remove the impeller.

If you contact outboard jets, they can give you a list of local dealers for their parts. In my case there are two within 10 minutes of my house. I bought a couple of the plastic sleeves in case I had a problem in the future (they're a couple bucks each).

My impeller had such severe cavitation burns that I replaced it and the wear ring. Once you take it apart, it's pretty easy to understand how to move the shims to keep impeller clearance to a minimum. I had something like 1/8" clearance all the way around which was way too excessive. Factory spec is 1/32" or .032 but less is okay if it doesn't rub. My new impeller and wear ring, with all shims placed in front of the impeller (no shims moved to adjust for wear) had .010 clearance but did not rub. I left it as it was and called it good.

Interesting thing is my boat ran 31 mph with the old burned impeller and severely gouged up wear ring. With the new impeller and wear ring it ran....31 mph. The only difference was a better hole shot.

From a maintenance perspective you should pull the impeller once or twice a year just to make sure it doesn't seize onto the shaft like it is now. Put anti-seize on all the shoe studs (I put some on the shaft as well) and check your clearances to make sure you don't have too much. If you do, go ahead and move the shims as needed. It's a very easy system to work on once you get comfortable with it.

hth, aw

[Elk Mania]

simple fix ditch the 3 bladed and upgrade to 4 bladed stainless we got one on our 19' duck 115 yami gets up with 5 like theirs only 3 !!! IT'S LIKE NIGHT AND DAY it's worth it make sure you count the washers and the bottom and on the top of the impeller VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! AND THE CLEARENCE WILL BE FINE don't resharpen the impeller u will make the blades smaller and their will be to much blowby in the pump to be useful

honestly dude GET THE UPGRADE!!!