impeller access panel issuue

P

portlandtug25

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 17, 2014
Messages
89
Fluid Motion Model
C-26
Vessel Name
Regalo
Hello Tug People:

I'm trying to change impeller--in my opinion the most important bit on a boat besides oil in the crankcase --on a Volvo D3 R25 sc.

I just watched the video on how to do this, and while it's helpful, I can't seem to find the screws that hold the white plastic sound barrier panel under the step in place. I have removed the screws from the midship berth, but the video says there are
also screws "under the step" that need to be removed. However, the only other screws I find there are the four that secure the small diesel heater pump to a shelf that appears to be attached to that vertical plastic panel. I've loosened those. But the panel doesn't want to budge. I'm not sure where to look for more screws.

Am I missing something here?

Thanks!
 
Hello,
I'm curious,... What video?
David
 
David,
On the homepage, go to the Ranger Tug factory link. Click on it and you will see "videos" among other items offered by the company. In that collection is a video that deals with changing the impeller.

Stu
 
Yes the video is on the Ranger Tug factory home page. But it only has an R27 removal shown. There is also a PDF with tool list and step -by-step instructions. Both are only for the Volvo D-3. The actual impeller removal procedure seems the same for both boats.

So I finally discovered on my boat that there is only one screw that holds the plastic sound barrier in place and that screw is located UNDER (hence not visible) the right hand side of the little shelf that is attached to it and that carries the diesel fuel pump for the cabin heater. So you have to remove the four screws holding the pump in place and then slide the pump just slightly ( being very careful of the copper fuel lines) to the left to access that one screw and take it out. Then after those steps you remove the two fuzzy panels in the quarter berth and the plastic sound barrier will slide out from under the pump-- which is now suspended by its fuel supply lines. So care is needed if you have a pump. There doesn't seem to be as much space in front of the engine in the 25 as the 27 but it looks do-able. The PDF instructions say there are two screws holding the panel in place, and maybe on boats with no fuel pump under the step, there are.

Roger in Portland
 
By the way, the Volvo owners manual maintenance schedule calls for a 400 hour interval for replacing the impeller. Seems kinda long to me. What's everyone one else doing?

Thanks,
Roger
 
On my 09 Cummins the impeller was changed in 13 with roughly 150 running hours.
It needed it. There were small stretch cracks in the rubber.
You can find recommendations to change the impeller annually.
Two years since changed and I am thinking about it, though the run time has been minimal.
Likely I will let it go another year, then change it based on time.
I do carry a new impeller and the tools to change it.
 
I've got 130 hours right now and am planning a long trip to the Gulf Islands, BC in September, so I'll probably have the Volvo dealer do it since the motor's still under warranty, and keep the original impeller as spare. At least now I can get access to the front of the engine, and could do it in an emergency. The factory told me it wasn't necessary to remove the cabin heater pump and it isn't (just barely!), but you do have to take care with the fuel supply lines. If there were more than one screw holding this shelf and pump in place, you would have to remove the pump...

Considering installing an Aqua Alarm flow detector in the raw water stream-- might save a lot of trouble/expense if an impeller goes bad unexpectedly. I've had that happen on another boat--you can cook a muffler and hoses pretty quickly.

Thanks for the input!
Roger
 
When I first bought our boat it had 88 hours on it. I changed the impeller before I used the boat and 2 blades were torn off, luckily they didn't go upstream. I now do it annually regardless of hours. The last one I changed had stress cracks in the rubber. Pain in the butt job but a necessary one. The Volvo access doesn't look any easier than the Yanmar, hope someone post some pics of the Volvo impeller replacement.
I made a modification to the step for easier access, pics in my album.
 
I just performed the 400 hour maintenance, which includes impeller replacement, on my 2015 R-25 SC powered with the Volvo D3 150 hp engine. Kenny's excellent video of the R-27 Volvo impeller replacement (posted on the Ranger website) also applies to the R-25SC with the Volvo engine. Using a 1/4 inch drive ratchet with a 3 1/2 to 4 inch extension for removing the three 5mm hex head screws from the water pump housing makes this job very easy (this is the same tool that Kenny used in the video). Some of the vanes on my impeller had started to split so I plan to replace the impeller prior to the next 400 hour interval.
 
Buy a new impeller for a spare. Or buy two. I cannot see keeping a used impeller for a spare. Only just long enough to get another new one.
 
I keep the old one as my spare. The Yanmar periodic maintenance says 250 hours, check the impeller. I opt to install a new one since I am there already. However if the old one looks good I could technically put it back in for another 250 hours. So at each impeller inspection/change I keep the one I take out and throw the one I saved from the previous change. So far, so good.
 
Mike: The real point here is...

Is a new impeller's integrity and life span the same as one that has been used for 250 hours ?

IMO, the impeller material most likely has an 'aging' aspect to it much like for many plastics that lose their strength over time as well as becoming brittle and less resilient.

It is tempting to keep the old impeller as a spare, but personally, if I had to resort to using it I would not assume it has a life span of 250 hours.

I also wonder about the shelf life of an impeller. IMO, they should have a date stamp indicating when they were manufactured.
 
Baz,
I keep the old impeller as a spare in an emergency. I would most likely keep it in until I had my replacement arrive. To your point, why buy a new one and let it sit around until I need it. When I took my diesel class the instructor suggested that when the boat is laid up in the winter you should remove the impeller and store it in a jar of olive oil or glycerin. Maybe storing you spare the same way couldn't hurt. I wonder what my salad dressing will taste like after having my impeller soaking in the olive oil over the winter? :lol:
 
On the 21EC you can have the impeller removed and in your hand in 5 minutes. STicking a 'used' (last years') impeller back in would be better than nothing. But why not carry spare/S? You carry more than one of most other consumable items (oil/fuel filters, belts, oil, fuses, etc), right?

The impeller access situation is much more difficult in the larger tugs. So, why would you spend 30 minutes to 2 hours extracting the old, perhaps damaged, impeller only to replace it with a "used" one? I under stand rubber 'ages' but our impellers are NEOPRENE which doesn't age much when left in the package and protected from light. So you could by 100 spares now and not worry about deterioration of any significance for your lifetime.

So, my point is, the impeller costs little in terms of boat spares and the effort to replace is SIGNFICANT (that is, time to access and remove a suspect impeller), so what's the downside to keeping 2 or 3 NEW ones onboard? If you stuff your 'OLD' impeller in there, then you've committed to redoing all that work as soon as you can lay hands on a NEW impeller, right? I'm sure I'll never need most of my spares but I can lend another boater a hand (or spare oil, impeller, fuse, hose clamp, etc).

Friends don't let friends boat without spares onboard... 😉

dave
 
Dave: I do like your approach and argument about using the 'old' impeller. For us R-21EC owners as you say, replacing the impeller is a snap but for the other models it can be a PITA especially with the boat rocking & rolling. 🙂
 
Impeller update: So I had the local Volvo dealer do the job, given that the motor is still under warranty. The original impeller had, at 132 hours, one vane that was starting to get pretty chewed up, so I'm glad I didn't wait till the D-3 owners' manual-recommended 400 hours--it might not have lasted that long. I bought an extra new one to carry as a spare. The Volvo mechanic said that old impellers "swell" and are hard put back in once taken out anyway, so it's not a good idea to use an old one as a spare, even if it looks good. Maybe so. And they probably get brittle with age.

So I will make this an annual maintenance item on this boat, and always keep a new spare on board.
 
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