Water Pump 1994 200HP Johnson Venom

Yes it's me again.

The guy who sold me the boat in November said the water pump was about 18 months old in this motor.

Now at an idle I have about 8-10lbs pressure and at WOT have over 30lbs (gauge is pegged), but I don't trust it because the boat wasn't in the water that much and I don't want it falling apart on me.

Opinions here.........change it or just wait...??

and when I do change it I'm gonna do it myself and would appreciate any tips that might make it go smoother because I've never changed one in a big outboard motor............any input is appreciated... http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/smile.gif

the usual thing people do is maybe change it every year( season or 100 hrs) if used a lot now you can get away with it being longer if you dont use it as much but it also means the blades get bent in one position and may get brittle. if it were me I would have a tech look at it and see or do it your self, there is a link to do it on the forums somewhere, just have a buddy to help and a couple of beers for after. I usually change mine every year to 18 months unless I see a drop in wot water pressure when not messing with jackplate. 30 at wot is very good and 8-10 is normal idle, you may want to get a little bigger registering gauge as it seems that running a gambler you can probably come up on the plate a bit.

it never drops under 20lbs when I raise the plate..............pressure has never been a driving issue for me......but I'm still learning to tweek out the trim and jackplate while running WOT.

It's a whole new game to me

Not knowing if you fish all year, but if you don't, replace in spring. The best thing for impellers is to run the motor regularly. Sitting allows them to take more of a set, so it helps to replace in spring. If you go all year, I'd replace it now. Can't be SURE that it was replaced 18 months ago. Someone selling a boat would never tell you that the impeller is 3 or 4 years old, because it would make you question their whole maintenance program. But if they told you 18 months, it would be in the reasonable time frame and they would figure you would replace it in the next year so both of you would be safe. Do it now (or spring) and KNOW when it was last changed. Cheap part protects expensive motor.

Disclaimer: The following is heresay:

I have heard that good pressure is not a true indicator of impeller health and that they can go from good pressure to self destruct without much advance warning. Not sure if this is true, but I adhere to it and the 2 years or less rule.

My impeller is 3 years old and wp is still 20+ lbs @ wot. Sometimes my rig sits for up to 3-4 weeks. I'm planning to change it as soon as I get a blip in the wp or sooner.