Replacing Impellers on a 2006 340 sundancer with 6.2L engines and v-drive

lpvanam

lpvanam

Member
Aug 8, 2009
105
Silverdale, WA
Boat Info
2006 Sea Ray 340 Sundancer "Even Moor Memories"
Engines
Dual 6.2L MPI - V-Drives
I usually have the impellers replaced by the dealer, but since I do a lot of the other maintenance I thought I might give it a try myself this year. As noted in the title, the boat is a 2006 340 with 6.2L engines and v-drives. The dealer is always saying it is very difficult and requires special tools, but they tried to tell me that about replacing the plugs, distributor, and wires too.

Any advice or tricks that you have learned for this style boat/engine would be appreciated.

Paul
 
Buy a small monkey and send him down and hand him wrenches! No really just be patient don't get frustrated and you will figure out how to maneuver yourself and your tools to get in. His special tools are probably swivel head sockets and sWivel extensions.
 
It's not necessarily "hard", but you do need to be able to get in some tight positions and also be able to do some of the removal/reinstall by "feel". It'll be much easier if you remove the pump and bracket as a unit and then work on it at your workbench. If you're doing this in the water, don't forget to shut the seacock!!! Any of the threads that you can search for that deal with this process will be identical to yours (in regards to removing the pump) - even Bravo sterndrives and bigger/smaller engines. Suggestion... Make a trial run before you get too far into this - get in there and see what type of positions you can get yourself into to give you access. Don't get stuck!
 
When I do mine (in the near future), I'm inking about removing the mufflers to gain better access...

What do you think about that Dennis?
 
I have a 06 320 with those engines. Your boat has 6 inches more beam, so the job should be slightly easier but I hesitate to use the word easy with this job. After changing the impellers twice, I swore I would never attempt it again and wanted to sell the boat after the last time. I highly recommend that you get down in the bilge (or more likely lay across the top of the engine with your head down in the bilge) and see if you can reach the lower hose on the back of the pump on the port engine and feel confident that you will be able to put that hose back on and tighten the clamp. After doing that, call the dealer and schedule the job.
 
This job is not for people that are over 5'5" and weigh more that 100lbs.

This is the only maintenance item on the boat that i have no issue paying someone to do.
 
I do all other maintenance on my motors and generator including the manifolds. I gladly pay my SeaRay dealer to perform this service. I agree with Zorba, if you're taller than 5 feet and weigh more than 100 lbs, spend the money.
 
After reading this thread I think I made the right decision in scheduling this work with my marina's tech.
 
Thanks for all the advice... :smt021. I'm 6'2" and weigh 180. So I'm out of standards with most estimates of size to fit in there. I will say that the 6.2s in the 340 do provide me pleanty of room to work on the engines for most maintenance.

I saw one suggestion about removing the exhast to gain access. I also had another member PM me with the same suggestion. Wondering if there is anything special I need to do prior to removing the exhaust hose or the exhaust canister.

I plan on doing the maintenance in the water so I'll be shutting the seacock before attempting any of this maintenance.
 
JimG said:
When I do mine (in the near future), I'm inking about removing the mufflers to gain better access...

What do you think about that Dennis?
Click to expand...

It would definitely give you some extra room. They look daunting to remove because they're "big", but they're just cumbersome is all. It would allow for you to get a more direct route down to the pump. But you still need to get yourself down low. Still ain't gonna be easy, though! I'm a big proponent of DIY, whether it's my boats or my other vehicles... But sometimes, sometimes.... Writing a check is a HECK of a lot easier, you know?
 
The design sucks! Pure and simple! [nomex] If they are not Horizon's, I would consider crank mounted pump replacements. If the housings are scored, I would seriously consider it. [/nomex]
 
very long post but i had the distinct 'pleasure' of replacing the impellers in both of my 6.2's this past WE....the starboard side impeller disintegrated and froze in the housing...this caused the pulley to stop spinning and the serpentine belt to burn off.....after i replaced the starborad impeller the port impeller started making the 'death squeak'.....if you are not familiar with this sound often times when the impeller is failing it will begin to make a squeaking sound, sort of like a loose drive belt.....if you are getting this squeaking sound you can CAREFULLY use something to press against the drive belt when the engine is running to see if the squeaking goes away...this tightens the tension of the belt...if the squeak goes away then you got lucky and just need to adjust the belt tension....if the squeak does not go away the likely cause is the impeller is failing....

i consider myself to be a fairly competent 'shade tree mechanic'...i have worked on many cars, trucks and boats over the years....first of all, this job is not for the 'faint of heart'....as was noted earlier the job itself is not difficult...the difficult part is contorting your body into awkward positions and being able to use and control tools while in those positions....i am 6' 1" tall and weigh a little over 200 lbs. and i am nearly 60 years old...i found the job to be 'challenging'....

since the job is fresh on my mind, i'll describe my experience and maybe it will help you and other brave souls that decide to tackle this job....

i started by SHUTTING OFF THE SEACOCK THAT FEEDS COOLING WATER TO THE ENGINE......then i removed the serpentine drive belt....this is easy enough...just loosen the 9/16" nut on the idler pulley and let the pulley drop down in its bracket until the belt is loose enough to remove....i gained better access to the pump by removing the large exhaust tube on the same side of the engine as the pump....use of a rubber hammer to bump the tube out of the rubber joints helps...also spraying a little WD40 in between the side of the tube and the rubber joints will help...i also removed the two water hoses that connect to the thermostat housing on that same side....by sitting or lying across the large exhaust tube that was not removed i could reach down to the pump...i also used a long wooden 2x4 to lay across the engines so i could lay across it as needed....

i removed the two 9/16" bolts that hold the pump bracket to the engine...a couple of the bolts were stuck so i used a breaker bar and socket to break them loose...that allowed the pump/bracket assembly to drop down which gave better access to the two hose clamps that hold the water lines on the pump....be sure to note which hose goes on which fitting on the pump...the two water lines are the same size so they can be reconnected incorrectly which is obvioulsy not good...i used a plastic tie strap around the top hose as a marker....i loosened the two hose clamps and reached down and pulled off the hoses from the pump....this allows the entire assembly of the pump and engine bracket to be removed.....i would suggest you have 3 sizes of flat head screwdrivers handy....long, regular and stubby....you may need different length flat head screwdrivers along the way to loosen and tighten hose clamps depending on access to the pump and hoses...i also HIGHLY recommend you have a telescoping magnetic retrieval tool for when you drop bolts, nuts, tools etc. down into the engine bay...lets just say i used this retrieval tool several times during this job....i did not do this but i was thinking of removing the fuel/water seperator filter to possibly gain better access to the hose clamps on the pump...on my engines these filters are located right beside the pump...

once i had the pump/bracket out from the engine bay i removed the three 1/2" nuts and lock washers that mount the pump to the engine bracket....then i removed the six 1/2" long bolts that hold the two halves of the housing together....by seperating the housing you will see the impeller.....note which way the blades of the impeller are leaning inside the housing...you will want to put the new impeller back into the housing with the same blade orientation.....i used a pair of channel lock pliers to remove the old impeller from the housing....if any blades or pieces of the blades have broken off try to find them inside the housing....it is important that you find all missing pieces of the blades...if you don't these pieces of blades can move up the water line and block off a water passage which could lead to engine overheating issues....if you do not find all of the blade pieces in the pump housing they are most likely at the transmission cooler.....one of the water lines from the pump is connected to the transmission cooler....remove the water line from the transmission cooler and use your finger to feel inside the mouth of the cooler....the cooler has a 'grate' that allows water to pass through but catches pieces of blades that break off from the impeller....i found several pieces of old impeller blades in the mouth of the transmission cooler on both of my engines.....after you remove any pieces of blades that are found reconnect the water line to the cooler and tighten the hose clamp...

i tightened a plastic tie strap around the new impeller and made sure the blades where bending in the correct direction...i used some dish washing soap to lubricate the inside of the housing...i placed the new impeller into the housing and cut the plastic tie strap...i used a rubber hammer to tap the impeller all the way down into the housing.....i replaced the stainless steel wear plate on the other section of the housing.....the new SS wear plate came with the impeller kit...then i reconnected the two sections of the pump housing together with the six long bolts.....then i reconnected the pump to the engine bracket with the 3 nuts and lock washers....the pump will only mount to the engine bracket one way so there is no danger of making a mistake here...

now the fun begins.....by lying across the engines i was able to lower the pump/bracket and reattach the hoses....then i tightened the hose clamps...next i used a medium sized phillips head screwdriver to move the pump/bracket to roughly align the holes of the engine bracket with the mounting holes in the engine block....i stuck the phillips screwdriver through the top hole in the bracket and then into the top engine block mounting hole....this moved the pump/bracket into position where i could get the bottom bracket mounting screw started through the bracket and into the engine block.....after both bracket mounting screws were in place i used a breaker bar and 9/16" socket to tighten them down....

i used dish washing soap to lube the ends on the removed exhaust tube and the removed water lines and reinstalled them on the engine...again a rubber hammer will help get the exhaust tube into position....be sure to tighten all of the hose clamps properly on the exhaust tube and the water lines...

i decided to go ahead and replace the serpentine drive belts on both engines... i took the old belt to Advance Auto parts and got an exact match....cost of the new belt was around $23.....the same 'marine version' of the belt is over $100....this is one of the VERY FEW automotive parts that i think are acceptable to use on a boat engine....the new belt was easy to install...after making sure the belt was routed around the various pulleys correctly i used a 5/16" wrench on the small nut in the center of the idler pulley to raise the pulley in its bracket thus tightening the tension on the belt...once the desired belt tension was reached just tighten the larger 9/16" nut on the idler pulley to lock it in place...

now open the seacock, start the engine and check for any water leaks...watch the engine temp gauge carefully to insure the engine is not over heating....also check the exhaust water bypass that discharges exhaust water over the side of the boat...makes sure there is water being discharged...this indicates the new impeller is pumping water as expected....it may take 30 seconds or so after the engine is started to see exhaust water being discharged over the side of the boat....

and you are done!!!!....sit back, grab a cold adult beverage and take satisfaction that you just saved yourself several hundered $$ by not paying to have this job done by a marine mechanic....if you are like me you will have the sore muscles and cut/scratched hands to remind you for several more days of just how 'fun' this job was...

good luck....

cliff

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Nice write-up Cliff, thanks!
 
Great write up Cliff! I do not have a 6.2, but the 350 mag. I am sure it is similar. Thanks for the insight.

Bennett
 
Thanks Cliff! Great write up. I'm going to take a copy of this to the boat when I do the impeller replacement. Very appreciated.

This is one reason that I love ClubSeaRay.
 
one other thing i forgot to mention....i found it a little easier to move around the engine bay if i had the engine hatch lifted almost vertical....to do this you need to remove the rear seat from the boat...then raise the engine hatch with the electric lift motor as far as it will go....then, while holding the hatch open, remove the pin that connects the engine hatch to the lift ram.....push the hatch up until it is almost vertical....then prop the hatch open with a rod or 2x4 that is the right length to fit between the front lip of the hatch and the water drain channel in the cockpit deck....be sure to measure the length of the 2x4 needed and have it cut to the right length before you rasie the hatch off of the lift ram.....the hatch is fairly heavy so i would suggest you get help when you attempt to lower the hatch and reinsert the pin that connects the hatch to the lift ram....it can be done by yourself if you are reasonably strong by using your head and one hand to maneuver the hatch into position while the other hand inserts the pin....

this can be dangerous so please be careful if you decide to do this....i suggest placing the 2x4 that is holding the hatch open as far away from the spot you are working in to avoid the possibility of hitting the 2x4 and allowing the hatch to drop closed uncontrolled...

cliff
 
Nice write up Cliff. I've done this job a couple of times, both engine mounted pumps and the Alpha pumps in the outdrive. It's a lot of work for a wear item. At least on yours you can get to the front of the engines, I helped a friend do is 300DA and we ended taking most of the exhaust off to get to the pumps. One place I wish Mercury would take a queue from other manufacturers that make it a little easier.

Not to give you more work, but if your engine pumps were due, I bet the generator isn't far behind - It's a lot easier.

That old saying "don't stick your hand in a hole you can't see in" doesn't apply to boats!
 
Great write up Cliff.
Being a mechanic I have a some tool suggestions.
1/4'' Ratchet set with a swivel and extensions makes getting hose clamps off a lot easier than a screwdriver.
Gear wrenches with flexible box ends come in really handy when you can't get a socket in.
 
Thanks guys.....as much as I like to complain sometimes about these kind of jobs I do enjoy a challenge and the satisfaction felt after the job is done....if I had to I could pay someone to work on the boat but I want to keep my mind and body active and challenged as I get older...one day I won't be able to do this kind of work but I hope that day is far into the future....

Bill,
thanks for 'consulting' with me about the job this WE....it's always good to take a break and share a cold brew with a friend....sometimes it helps put the proper perspective on things.....

yeah, I have already been thinking about the generator impeller....I am going to do a full tune-up on both engines and the generator so I will change the genny impeller then....

cliff
 
thanks for the tool suggestions.....i have a pretty good basic tool box put together that i keep on the boat but it does not include as many sockets and extensions as i now know i may need, so i will take care of that.....always love a reason to buy more tools....i think you are right that the hose clamps on the pump hoses would have been much easier to get to with a couple long 1/4" extensions and a swivel adapter....

i have not used the gear wrenches before but have seen them and thought they were pretty cool.....might not be a bad idea to add a set to the tool box also...

cliff
 
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