OMC 190hp sterndrive

I just bought this boat, without doing any research on the sterndrive. I was blinded by the overall appearance of the boat and engine that I just figured the Omc was like any other. The previous owner told the boat was overheating at higher rpms and that a boat mechanic told him he needed a new impeller. I now know why he did not get it fixed because he said it was going to cost 1800 dollars. My question : is it possible to replace the impeller without taking off the upper unit. Has anyone ever/ or is it possible to only drop the lower unit and get to the impeller?

 

You MUST get hold of a workshop manual for said engine and drive, if doing any work, it is a very cheap, and very necessary acquisition. If it costs $1800 to replace a water pump impellor, then that would be a surprise to me, given that most outboards can be done by a reasonably capable person, and the parts are not that expensive. But your machine may have greater complications, and you need that manual.

 

Is this the one that has the impeller on the upper? It is behind a cover that can be removed without disassembling the whole unit. However, you should service the u-joints and spline shaft. Also, there is no guarantee that is the only problem. Older engines get corrosion in the exhaust and block that prevent water from circulating and cooling the engine. Take it to a good marine mechanic for inspection before spending money on parts.

 

It’s located at the bottom of the upper unit I believe. I have the shop manual. It came with the boat. And the seller told me they had taken it to a boat mechanic who told them that it was a bad impeller that was creating over heating at higher speeds. And I think the 1800 dollars was going to be mostly for labor.

 

Sounds like a lot for 45 minutes of labor.
OMC Cobra water pump step by step removal photos http://www.sterndrive.info/id341.html

 

It’s not a cobra. It’s a 1975 Omc 800. The old white ones. I wish it was a cobra.

 

It is still a lot of money for the amount of labor. Check the instruction on how to change the pump on the same website.

 

I agree. So maybe there are more problems with the boat than they told me about or the mechanic was trying to take advantage of them . Thanks for your help