kohler gen impeller replacement

[sea ray roy]

i believe my impeller needs replacement, gen shuts dowm after a couple min. and is loud and no water coming out of side and strainer clean, not sure how easy it would be , looks like its at the right rear side and you would have to unbolt the whole gen to pull out and replace>??? i have tools but if its a big pain i will have my mechanic do it, ??

 

[Ovmman]

Hello Roy, been a while since I did it but I remember it was pretty easy, took maby 20 minutes and some simple hand tools, just remember to look for any pieces of the old impeller that may have broken off.

 

[scoflaw]

No you don't unbolt the gen.... Some of these pumps are more accessible than others. If you can unbolt and remove 3 of the 4 bolts your way ahead of the game. Spin the cover out of your way and replace the impellor. If that isn't going to happen you have a couple of small Allen head bolts to remove the complete pump. Good luck with that R/R

 

[Lost Islanders]

Kohler pump is fairly easy to access, just working from the side if it is similar to Kohler we have on our 260. When we bought the boat, our sales man suggested we replace our impeller every year (that's what he said the dealer does when they complete their yearly service). This seemed excessive but he said it's best to replace before impeller breaks down and ends up in the heat exchanger. I didn't get a chance to replace it our first year but just did this year (about 50 hrs. run time since we bought it), and the impeller was in good shape. I'll keep the old one as a spare. One recommendation, you might want to check the generator anode? If your impeller is worn out, your anode might need replacing also? A little trickier than impeller but still do-able.

good luck, Dean.

 

[sea ray roy]

thanks for the feedback ,the engines only had 75 hrs, and the gen only has 18 hours on on it but the boat had been sitting for a few years when i bought it a 6 months ago, it had worked once for 20min, then kept shutting down , i think after the seaweed clean out of the strainer it smoked the impeller.
. i will give it a shot, thanks!

 

[carterchapman]

Roy, it was a 5 min job on my former 340 - my access might be easier than yours. Use some dishwashing liquid as lube when you install it. Mine was easy to do yearly.

 

[Sous]

Actually changed mine yesterday. 4 5/16 bolts to remove, pop in the new impeller and o-ring, reinstall the bolts, fire up the genny. 15 minutes max.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Just a tip on the install of the new impellor. Coat the vanes on the impeller and the inside of the housing with dish soap so it will slide in easier. Get a zip tie or two and as you tighten the vanes (making sure you bend them in the right direction), snug the zip ties down until the diameter of the impeller is slightly than the inside of the housing. As you slide it in you may need to tap lightly with a small hammer. As you tap it into place just slide the zip ties off.

My impeller (Westerbeke gen) is on the starboard side in a small space. I could get my lard butt in there but it would take 15 minutes to get in, 10 minutes to change the impeller and 15 minutes to get out. My wife, who is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than I am is in, changes the impeller and is out in 15 minutes.