I replaced my impeller on my boat today. I have not done this since I have owned it (3 years) do it was a bit over due. It is a pretty simple task but I tell you......putting the lower unit back into the motor is a pain.
It looked like the guy before me put the impeller in the wrong way - the rubber fins pointing in the wrong direction. When I took off the water pump housing off the drive shaft 3 of the fins were facing one way and 3 were facing the other way. I have never seen this before and can only assume that is what happened. I did watch a couple of YouTube videos (there are a pile of them on-line) but be careful because I watched one where the guy installed the impeller backwards.
In any case I removed the old impeller and lightly lubed the housing and installed the new impeller and 2 nylon washers. The drive shaft turns clockwise so when you are looking at the water pump housing with the impeller installed it should be turning CCW. Add your gasket and slide the housing back down the drive shaft and make sure the key is engaged into the impeller and bolt the housing to the lower end. Then take a deep breath and slide the lower unit into the engine. Once it slides into place quickly get a bolt installed and then install the other 3 bolts and the nut/washer from underneath, install the directional fin and you are done. Run a test and you are good to go.
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