Does anyone have this setup on there raw water pump?
 If so  What do you think?  http://www.speedseal.com/speedseal.html

SD

We have it and IMO it is the best change we have made to the engine. It is expensive, but I can now change the impeller in a very short period of time with little effort. I don't have to have any tools to remove the plate and don't have to worry about loosing the screws under the engine or the heads snapping off. I like it.

Several people on the Grand Banks forum have installed these on their FL120 raw water pumps and are quite pleased with them. I was considering it but then we eliminated the original water pump and drive coupler altogether and replaced them with new one-piece Johnson pumps. I don't know if they make a Speed Seal for this pump. But given that we change our impellers only every couple of years or so and that the pumps on the engines are easy to get at I've never found it to be a hassle to remove the cover plate so I don't know that the Speed Seal would be much of an advantage.

But if one changes impellers fairly frequently I guess they can be a time-saver. I don't recall reading any negative comments on them on the GB forum.

Yep. Have 'em on our FL120's and love 'em.  Takes about 5 minutes to change impellers now.

The one question I would have is how long does it take for the impeller to wear down the inside of the SpeedSeal cover? On the stock Jabsco raw water pump as fitted to the FL120 the impeller--- which has to be a snug fit between the pump cover and the wear plate in order to move the proper amount of water---- will eventually wear a depression into the inside of the cover at which point the pump's efficiency begins to drop off. At that point, the cover needs to be replaced.

A clever trick used by a lot of mechanics is to simply reverse the stock pump cover, thus getting twice the life out of it.

I have not talked to anyone who's had a SpeedSeal setup on their pumps long enough to determine the rate of wear. But because only one side of the cover is machined for the nitrile O-ring, the SpeedSeal cover cannot be flipped when the inside has been worn down to the point where it needs to be replaced.

There is as much wear on the inside of the pump by the impeller as there is on the seal side.

The bump that causes the pumping action also is a replacement item.

Perhaps a NEW pump with a speed seal would last for 4 or 5 impellers , then could be carried as a spare?

Mostly depends on how sandy the water is.

I put one on my Lehman 135 back around 1992 and it's still fine. About 1000 hours at at least 8 impeller changes. I wouldn't be without it.

Not sure it would help my installation!!! I honestly don't think there is enough room in front of the plate to be able to extract the impeller. There is only about 2 inches of space for a 3 inch long impeller.... I need to take a better look because as it is now, it is a 2-3 hour job to change a stinking impeller!!!!

I guess you have to remove the entire pump to change the impeller?