Long story, but in short, I messed up. I bought a used boat last year that had mostly sat for a decade with intermittent use. I knew very little about boats. I have since learned a ton (replaced water pumps, rebuilt carbs, replaced props, bay kit, fuel filters, etc). However it didn't occur to me to replace the impeller on the T8's water pump. I don't know why as I have replaced them on several other motors.
Anyway, on the lake yesterday and it cuts off due to overheating. Sure enough, the one time I don't check the pee stream.... Get back onto land and pull the lower and 4 of the 6 blades are gone. 2 are lodged in the impeller cover. The other 2.... I don't know. I pull the thermostat cover and they aren't on top of the thermostat. I pull the water jacket cover (apparently Yamaha calls it an exhaust cover) and they aren't in there. The inner diameter of the water hoses is quite small; maybe 1/8" at the most. I can't imagine the other blades made their way past the cover. So they would be before that. I couldn't see them in the water uplift tube that connect to the lower. Unlike my mercury, apparently you can't pull the water tube out of the T8 because there is a flange on the end of the Yamaha tube so I would have to remove the block to get it out?
Unfortunately I have no idea when the blades were first lost. I could have been operating on 3 until yesterday and it was the 4th that broke the camel's back.
So I don't know if I should focus on finding the last 2 blades or if I should rebuild the pump and go for it or if I should take it in at have someone tear it apart to try to find them in the water jacket somewhere. Again, I can't imagine them having made it to the thermostat much less through it. I'm just not sure where they should be before it if I can't see them in the water tube.
Anyway, on the lake yesterday and it cuts off due to overheating. Sure enough, the one time I don't check the pee stream.... Get back onto land and pull the lower and 4 of the 6 blades are gone. 2 are lodged in the impeller cover. The other 2.... I don't know. I pull the thermostat cover and they aren't on top of the thermostat. I pull the water jacket cover (apparently Yamaha calls it an exhaust cover) and they aren't in there. The inner diameter of the water hoses is quite small; maybe 1/8" at the most. I can't imagine the other blades made their way past the cover. So they would be before that. I couldn't see them in the water uplift tube that connect to the lower. Unlike my mercury, apparently you can't pull the water tube out of the T8 because there is a flange on the end of the Yamaha tube so I would have to remove the block to get it out?
Unfortunately I have no idea when the blades were first lost. I could have been operating on 3 until yesterday and it was the 4th that broke the camel's back.
So I don't know if I should focus on finding the last 2 blades or if I should rebuild the pump and go for it or if I should take it in at have someone tear it apart to try to find them in the water jacket somewhere. Again, I can't imagine them having made it to the thermostat much less through it. I'm just not sure where they should be before it if I can't see them in the water tube.