3 replies to this topic

[Challenger 230]

This past weekend I went into some shallow water and one of my engines sucked in what sounded like a rock. It rattled around a bit before I got it shut down. Now that it's clear and out of the water, that engine makes a rattle sound that wasn't there before the incident. It's not very loud but now both engines sound very different. Before putting the boat back on the trailer I noticed that both engines seem to be performing correctly. There is no visible damage to impeller but I have not taken anything apart. Any guess what might be making the rattle?

[Kevin Leclair]

Are you getting any vibration or just rattling? If it is something rattling, it could be that you still have a piece of the rock bouncing around in there. If you are getting vibration, it could be the rock damaged the wear ring, impeller, or drive shaft.

Either way get under there when the boat is out of the water, take a flash light look through both sides (through the intake grate underneath and through the pump in the back). Keep us posted with what you find.

[Challenger 230]

Looked in intake grate. Looked clean. Took a flashlight and looked in through the back. A rock almost as big as golf ball was wedged in the back grate behind the impeller. After removing all the external hardware (reverse, steering, etc.) I was able the wiggle the rock free and get it through the grate.

Sadly, the impeller suffered a little damage. There are dings on the leading edge and while rock was wedged behind the impeller, there are shiney spots at the tail of every fin. My next question is how much damage is too much? How do I tell if it's not right? Will it hurt anything else if I run it like it is? I hooked up water hose on trailer and it seemed fine. No vibrations that I noticed

[hungoverracer]

Looked in intake grate. Looked clean. Took a flashlight and looked in through the back. A rock almost as big as golf ball was wedged in the back grate behind the impeller. After removing all the external hardware (reverse, steering, etc.) I was able the wiggle the rock free and get it through the grate.

Sadly, the impeller suffered a little damage. There are dings on the leading edge and while rock was wedged behind the impeller, there are shiney spots at the tail of every fin. My next question is how much damage is too much? How do I tell if it's not right? Will it hurt anything else if I run it like it is? I hooked up water hose on trailer and it seemed fine. No vibrations that I noticed

send it to impros they do great work