Winterization in Seattle

[kas232ca]

>>
Any particular reason you suggest waiting until spring to do Impeller? Does 120 hours seem a little shy of needing it done this go around?
>>

Yes, it should be done at 120 hours. I do mine every year. Even after 1 year, I see wear (usually about 50 hours) and deformity. You don't want the impeller coming apart and blocking the heat exchanger.

[billk2632]

Annual Maintenance: No problem waiting until January to do that given you are going to still use the boat some and it sounds like a 6week delay will save some $$. Some people do it in the spring and that's fine - there have been times that I have waited to spring, but I usually do it in the fall. Reason for doing it in the fall is 1. Storing the engine and outdrive with fresh oil/lube during a long layup and potentially finding any problems early. and 2. Boat is ready to go in the spring.

Water Pump Impeller: I change mine every other year, also in the spring - I think that is the VP recommended schedule. If you run in shallow water with sandy bottoms (think Florida) you probably should be on a 1yr schedule. Reason for spring is so the new impeller doesn't sit in the pump and take shape from not being used. Maybe a minor thing, that's just how I do it. At 120hrs your impeller is probably at least two years old unless you know otherwise I would probably change it. Impeller on a VP is very easy -- a few bolts, literally a 30min job and that's moving slow.

Outdrive: Change the gear lube every year, then every other year also pull the drive and inspect bellows, gimbal bearing and check alignment. No need to do this full service every year. Also, learn how to check the gearlube - VPs have a dipstick on the outdrive - I check mine at least monthly, to verify level and that there is no water getting into the gear lube. This is one area MerCruiser has a leg up on VP, they have a bottle in the engine bay that makes it easy to check.

Really these boats are not that complicated - it's a GM based car engine modified to work in a boat - annual inspections, fluid changes, bi-annual outdrive and water pump service, a few additional things like spark plugs, belts in the 300hr range and it should run fine for many years following the basic maintenance schedule.

[jhnmdahl]

My rule of thumb for the impeller is every second year or every 100 hours. I also keep a spare propeller in the boat, but that won't save me from broken bits restricting flow to the heat exchanger.

[MnSeabalt]

Annual Maintenance: No problem waiting until January to do that given you are going to still use the boat some and it sounds like a 6week delay will save some $$. Some people do it in the spring and that's fine - there have been times that I have waited to spring, but I usually do it in the fall. Reason for doing it in the fall is 1. Storing the engine and outdrive with fresh oil/lube during a long layup and potentially finding any problems early. and 2. Boat is ready to go in the spring.

Water Pump Impeller: I change mine every other year, also in the spring - I think that is the VP recommended schedule. If you run in shallow water with sandy bottoms (think Florida) you probably should be on a 1yr schedule. Reason for spring is so the new impeller doesn't sit in the pump and take shape from not being used. Maybe a minor thing, that's just how I do it. At 120hrs your impeller is probably at least two years old unless you know otherwise I would probably change it. Impeller on a VP is very easy -- a few bolts, literally a 30min job and that's moving slow.

Outdrive: Change the gear lube every year, then every other year also pull the drive and inspect bellows, gimbal bearing and check alignment. No need to do this full service every year. Also, learn how to check the gearlube - VPs have a dipstick on the outdrive - I check mine at least monthly, to verify level and that there is no water getting into the gear lube. This is one area MerCruiser has a leg up on VP, they have a bottle in the engine bay that makes it easy to check.

Really these boats are not that complicated - it's a GM based car engine modified to work in a boat - annual inspections, fluid changes, bi-annual outdrive and water pump service, a few additional things like spark plugs, belts in the 300hr range and it should run fine for many years following the basic maintenance schedule.

Awesome thanks again. You've been a ton of help and are good at not overcomplicating these lessons.

[billk2632]

Glad I could help.