Seawater pickup impeller? shredded?

[the sMac]

I noticed I was running a little hot on the temp as I was heading out for a boat ride. My gut told me it was the impeller since the 454 engine sounded a little more 'throaty' then usaual - lack of water in the exhaust.

When I took off the sea-water pump, and opened it up... there was not much left except for the impeller hub and some rubber fins that were broken off.

My questions is: What happened to the rest of the impeller??? Are those broken parts going to cause problems, overheating, or any other problems if they are inside the block?

I put a new impeller on, and a new housing and wear plate. I did not start or run the boat yet. Concerned with the MIA parts.

Also, what would cause this horrible shredding of the impeller? It was all gone!

Thanks,

[the sMac]

I noticed I was running a little hot on the temp as I was heading out for a boat ride. My gut told me it was the impeller since the 454 engine sounded a little more 'throaty' then usaual - lack of water in the exhaust.

When I took off the sea-water pump, and opened it up... there was not much left except for the impeller hub and some rubber fins that were broken off.

My questions is: What happened to the rest of the impeller??? Are those broken parts going to cause problems, overheating, or any other problems if they are inside the block?

I put a new impeller on, and a new housing and wear plate. I did not start or run the boat yet. Concerned with the MIA parts.

Also, what would cause this horrible shredding of the impeller? It was all gone!

Thanks,

[persuader22]

SCROLL DOWN UNDER ASK THE EXPERTS, I POSTED SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN READ . THE HEADING IS WATERPUMP,I POSTED IT AUGUST 17TH. THERE IS MANY REPLYS ON IT. YOU GOT LUCKY, UNLIKE ME MINE SHREDDED AND OVERHEADTED ALMOST INSTANTLY AND NOW ITS COSTING ME $4800 TO FIX..

[vinny p.]

Most likely the pieces ended up in either your motor oil cooler or power steering cooler. You HAVE to get them out before running the motor. Just take the hoses off the coolers on the "in" side and check for debris.

[happy]

vinny is right. the pieces are in the cooler..depending on the vintage 454 you have it rides along the back side of the engine, underneath by the motor mount port side, or straight up in front of the motor adjacent to the waterpump.. port side..

[the sMac]

Boy, I wish I would have read this post before the weekend.

I ran it last weekend, and I didn't clean out the coolers. The engine ran about 10-15 cooler, which makes me think the impeller was going bad.

I will flush it out this weekend - becasue that boat won't be shut off until after Labor Day.

Thank you,