Water Pump?

[RUSS9999]

How often should you replace the water pump in an out board? Just got a Lowe 180W with a Johnson 90. He said he put one in it 2 years ago.  

[Team9nine]

Edit: My error - defaulting to the responses below...

-T9 

[jbh3]

Most OEM's recommend once a year or every 100 hours, whichever comes first. Cheap insurance against a catastrophic failure, IMO.

[S. Sass]

I had also heard 2 years was a good idea for the impeller to be replaced. I don't have a 40 yr history owning boats but I have been around friends and family that have had them and the general consensus I saw was about the same. I recon there are many variables as to the longevity but Ill do the safer than sorry method. The part is cheap and not hard to replace every other year. I even asked my local dealer and he quoted like $125.00 to do a PM on my 115 Johnson that was included in the PM. Ill consider it insurance not to get caught out wishing I hadn't tried to save that few bucks. 

[tander]

I would go with no longer than 2 years, better safe than sorry.

[riverbasser]

If you like to do things yourself, I like to pull the lower unit down every winter an inspect it. I also lubricate it really well to keep it soft. No need to spend 40 bucks unless it needs it. Been doin that for the past 5 years on my boat with no issues

[Scott F]

Over the winter, I was talking to a guy who services Honda outboards who told me they replace the water pumps every 2 years. I was not aware they needed such regular service. When I told him my 20 year old Mercury had never had the pump replaced, he was shocked that the motor hadn't quit years ago! I don't use my boat that much, I probably average about 20 hours a year, but he got me nervous so I ordered a pump kit and put it in myself before the start of this season. The impeller I took out was in nearly perfect shape. Still soft, no nicks or wear in the blades. There was some curling of the fins which is to be expected but I probably could have gotten more use out of it. As has been stated above, replacing it is cheap insurance. I viewed a few Youtube videos on how to do it and it was easy to change. I guess I was lucky not to have had problems, but maybe because most of my boating is in clear water, there wasn't much material suspended in the water that could speed up the wear on the impeller. It won't be 20 more years before I replace this one.

[slonezp]

I would think the only way to know for sure is to connect a water pressure gauge to the motor and when pressure starts dropping, it's time to replace it. Year 4 on my current motor without changing it. Went 10 years on the last motor and never changed it. 4 or 5 years on the motor prior to that, never changed it. Did put one on my 1960something Evinrude last year only because it failed the pee test

[RUSS9999]

Thanks everyone for the info.  It pee's a good stream and he said he put one in it 2 years ago, but going to put a new one in it. Then I know it's good to go.

[Al Wolbach]

I have a friend that is a marine master mechanic. I had this conversation with him a few years ago. He said first, there are to many variables to say when a pump will fail, but he recommends no more than two years between changing impellers. He said they can become brittle and pieces can break off and be cycled through the engine cooling ports( if you are lucky and block the ports if you are not lucky). He said the brittleness is probably caused by hot/cold cycles caused by weather and of course any dry start ups that may have occurred, such as starting engine while still trimmed up while fishing. 

Personally, I don't see risking a $20K outboard to save spending $20 for a new pump, but its your money. For those of you with extended warranties, your engine may or may not be covered if you don't change it at required intervals.