So I have and 03 VLX and the dealership is telling me that the raw water pump is going out after approx 150 hrs. Does this sound a little fishy? Just curious as the dealership doesn't have the best rep and it just seems like they are trying to make a little more money. Also how hard is it to fix yourself. I'm reasonably handy but not too familiar with boats. Finally how much does the pump usually run for the parts? Thanks in advance.

30 bucks for the part and simple to install on my direct drive, but a little harder on your v-drive. <BR> <BR>Jman

30 bucks, are you sure your not talking about the impeller, the dealer is telling me 300+ (includes labor) and I'v enever heard of them going for less than about $100.

The impeller is probably all it needs. I replaced the front seal in my pump when I first got it. The seal cost 27 cents. They probably just want to sell you the whole pump. <BR> <BR>Jman

See if you can get an estimate copy with parts and labor broken down. You might get a better response with specific information.

the pump could be bad if you sucked some sand or debris into it. I had to replace mine this spring. It didn't look bad but after going through 2 impellers the first of which cause the boat to overheat and warp a valve. I replaced the pump. The boat had about 300 hours on it. Providing they have checked all of the other possibilities, such as pulling air from a hose that isn't tight. I would get it done just ask for the old part back so you know they did it. If you really don't trust them take it somewhere else.

I bought an impeller with the seal yesterday for $37. The labor is the killer. I think they are looking at a labor time of 3 hours and $85 per hour you can hit $300 real quick. Thre are two types of raw water (sea water) pumps Plastic and Brass. It took me about 1.5 hours to remove the pump and I figure about the same to put it back in. This is the first time I have done it on a v-drive I had to change on in my direct drive once also. It isn't hard, it is just a major PITA to get to. I ended up pulling a couple of cooling hoses to make it easier to get to.

In the good old days the raw water pump was a fairly massive chunk of bronze that was virtually bullet proof. You would need to change the impeller from time to time and you might have to replace the bearings and seal after many hours but the pump housing itself would last forever. <BR> <BR>These days it seems that the manufacturers are trying to save a buck and making the pump out of plastic and other less durable materials. Now days you hear all sorts of tales about the pump housing cracking, the inside getting gouged out and other forms of failure. <BR> <BR>Rod

The raw water pump consists of a plastic housing and impeller. The whole kit, (gaskets and impeller) run about $60.00- $70.00 and an easy do it yourself on DD a bit harder to access on a V-drive . Usually only the impeller is bad ($30.00) unless sand or debris got in there. Takes me about an hour on a V-drive. Dealers are a rip-off IMO

Sounds like for the peace of mind I might just get it repaired, I will as for the old one though so I can rebuild it and check it out myself. I just don't want to have to deal with digging around my boat. I'll keep you posted as to what they finalize it at but it looks as though it may cost about 280. thanks for the help

I never thought about changing the entire pump!!! I change my impeller every spring just to be sure. You guys are scaring me talking about a warped housing. I thought that as long as the hoses are good and the impeller is changed once a year, I was fine. Any suggestions on often a brass pump housing should be changed? If you have a plastic housing, be sure not to over tighten those because they crack easily. Also, be sure careful not to reverse the hoses and make your pump blow instead of suck. Changing an impeller is not so bad. I always put dish washing soap on the impeller because that will make the rubber slide into the housing easier. Good Luck.

Ronnie- my guess is that is is pretty rare that the pump housing itself goes bad. I would just check it over to make sure there are no leaks through the shaft when you install in new impeller. Plus maybe take the outlet hose off just to verify it is pumping if you are really worried about it. I couldn't figure out when mine wouldn't pump at all. I messed with it for a few hours and finally just gave up and replaced it and that fixed the problem.

Just remove the whole pump assy (2 bolts) and change out the impeller on the bench... Maybe takes one hour on a v-drive... <BR> <BR>Remember to put some grease in the housing for that first dry start up... Saves damage <BR> <BR>And if the impeller fried... Be SURE to pull all the pieces of the impeller out of your trans cooler screen... A lot of guys forget this and it will run hot...

wow glad my volvo has a bronze pump. easy to replace impellar, but crappy wake hahhahah