M2 Stator Removal

[ForHogan]

Hello. Hoping somoneone can help with my dilemma.

This is an '02 240efi M2 Mercury Drive. I'm trying to remove my impeller to have it refurbished. I've removed the nozzle assembly without a problem, and have removed the 4 stator bolts and the 2 screws holding the trim plate to the ride plate. My manual says that after this is done... "Remove stator assembly." Yeah, right.

The stator is still firmly attached to the wear ring and I've even tapped on it a bit, thinking maybe it's a bit of corrosion holding it in. It doesn't budge. The exploded view of the parts in the manual doesn't show if the end of the impeller shaft actually sits in the seal in the center of the stator. If so, could the impeller shaft be frozen in there? Here's a link to the appropriate section of the manual:



I know that my marina had this apart last year and replaced the seal in there. The service manager at that time is no longer there, and they only occasionally work on jet drives so I'm hoping one of you gurus can shed some light. Thanks.

Mike

 

[seadoosnipe]

Merc pump...

Hello. Hoping somoneone can help with my dilemma.

This is an '02 240efi M2 Mercury Drive. I'm trying to remove my impeller to have it refurbished. I've removed the nozzle assembly without a problem, and have removed the 4 stator bolts and the 2 screws holding the trim plate to the ride plate. My manual says that after this is done... "Remove stator assembly." Yeah, right.

The stator is still firmly attached to the wear ring and I've even tapped on it a bit, thinking maybe it's a bit of corrosion holding it in. It doesn't budge. The exploded view of the parts in the manual doesn't show if the end of the impeller shaft actually sits in the seal in the center of the stator. If so, could the impeller shaft be frozen in there? Here's a link to the appropriate section of the manual:



I know that my marina had this apart last year and replaced the seal in there. The service manager at that time is no longer there, and they only occasionally work on jet drives so I'm hoping one of you gurus can shed some light. Thanks.

Mike

Hello Mike, welcome to the forum.

I'm not the best qualified to answer this question but seems to me, I thought you had to drop the entire pump to get to this unit. If you look at the exploded view, you'll notice there are several bolts that come up through the bottom and attach to the adapter plate of the motor.

To remove this unit and get to your impeller, I think you have to drop it.

Rookie101 will have a better answer for you, he should pop in shortly...:cheers:

 

[rookie101]

Mike, you should have all the bolts out from what I read in your post so the stator should slip off. The end of the drive shaft sits in the seal and a bronze bushing inside the stator, but I doubt it is stuck to it as it turns inside the bushing anytime the shaft is turning. My guess would be that the marina used a bit of RTV to make sure the stator was sealed to the wear housing. Try to tap it side to side with a rubber mallet, and it should break free.

I'm not at home right now, so if you need more help PM later this evening.

Aaron

 

[ForHogan]

Thanks, Aaron. I tried hammering a piece of 2x4 against it and only just rotated it up a hair. I'm afraid if I really pound on it, I'll bend the shaft or the bushing. Very strange, but i'll keep at it. All the fasteners are definitely removed...I hope they didn't use some sort of permanent adhesive.

Mike

 

[Adam X20]

I had the same problem.....
yeah right 1 hour job......
You need to improvise a "Puller".
Get a no.8 (8" /200mm) adjustable wrench and put one of the long bolts thru the circle on the handle end of the wrench,
thread it in deep, on one of the stator nozzle attachment tapped threaded holes, (outer exposed you will use 2 of 4 locations)
Position the adjustable end over the other opposite tapped hole location and bolt on the other long stator bolt.
The wrench needs adjusted tight on the stator bolt acting as a "handle".
With a 48" long 4" x 4" piece of wood, position it thru the wrench up to the transom.
position another peice of wood on the transom to act as a leverage point fulcrum.
Pull to apply some pressure to the lever (puller)
KEEP EVERYTHING STRAIGHT AND ALIGNED SO THE PULL FORCE IS STRAIGHT OUT.
Have another set of hands cradle the stator, apply pressure and give it a wack with a rubber mallet.
When it pops off make sure you have the bearing seal protector on the stator seal.

Work smarter not harder.
Good luck, and take your time setting up.

 

[ForHogan]

Wow. Thanks, Adam. That's very clever and I'll take a look at that idea in the morning. I'm still wondering why the first time I took off the stator it was not "jammed" on. What a pain in the arse.

Mike

 

[Adam X20]

You will find corrosion between the stator and the drive housing.
Wire brush and antisieze will ensure next year it slides off....

 

[ForHogan]

Update

Adam,

Thanks for the tip, it worked great!

What are your thoughts on using red-loctite on the nozzle-to-stator bolts as per the manual? My manual also calls for just perfect seal on the long stator-to-wear ring bolts and nothing on the impeller nut. I don't want a dissasembly nightmare next season unless necessary.

Thanks.

Mike

 

[Adam X20]

I would think the blue locktight may be more foregiving,
I also used thread sealer/antisize on the wear ring (long) bolts.

I would confirm with Rookie101 as he is the experienced Merc M2 book of knowledge.
Adam.

 

[rdradu]

Great thread guys and perfect timing as I have to replace my "wear ring" (or, in M2 jargon, the whole housing) and, thanks to this forum, I have found an exchange one at at Outlaw Marine for $450 (+ $450 core). My next question was "Can I do it myself?" - most of the wear ring guides in this site are for Seadoo's, so it took me a while to figure out that the M2 jets are different, but am now sure that I can remove the stator and will wait for rookie101 to confirm the button up procedure.

 

[WAJetboating]

To remove this unit and get to your impeller, I think you have to drop it.

Nope, you can remove the impeller from the rear without dropping anything.

Once the stator is off, the impeller nut is exposed. Removing that will permit the impeller to simply slide right off the impeller shaft. You don't even have to remove the wear ring.

What are your thoughts on using red-loctite on the nozzle-to-stator bolts as per the manual? My manual also calls for just perfect seal on the long stator-to-wear ring bolts and nothing on the impeller nut. I don't want a dissasembly nightmare next season unless necessary.

Yikes! I'd NEVER use the "Red Loctite of Death" anywhere near the jetdrive. Stainless steel bolts into aluminum threads, remember? Personally, I use a touch of thread sealant... while not exactly a thread locker, it does the job nicely without any chance of seizing.

The impeller nut is a nyloc-style nut. No thread locker is required. But they do recommend antiseize (Mercury 101, very expensive) on the impeller splines. I use a high quality lithium marine grease.

Great thread guys and perfect timing as I have to replace my "wear ring" (or, in M2 jargon, the whole housing) and, thanks to this forum, I have found an exchange one at at Outlaw Marine for $450 (+ $450 core). My next question was "Can I do it myself?"

Yes, you can do it yourself. It's actually much easier than replacing a Rotax wear ring, because the M2 just slips onto the jetdrive housing. There's an o-ring between the wear ring and housing that needs to be there to prevent air leaks, so make sure it's in good condition or buy a new one (not too expensive).

Also, you can often refurb your wear ring yourself. JBWeld is quite good at handling gouges, after which you can paint it with Mercury's own enamel paint if you wish. I just did this and it was very straightforward, costing about $10 for the paint and $5 for the JBWeld. Far better than $450 unless your damage is so severe that you must have a new one.

Report back!

 

[rdradu]

Once the stator is off, the impeller nut is exposed. Removing that will permit the impeller to simply slide right off the impeller shaft. You don't even have to remove the wear ring.

Awsome WAJet - thanks for your input and great idea. Will give the JB Weld a shot - nothing to lose.
Is a special tool required to remove the impeller nut?

 

[WAJetboating]

It requires a very deep socket. Mercury sells one for ~$70, but some people just cut a standard black impact socket in half and weld a pipe in between for the necessary depth. I ended up buying a homemade one from a guy who had since sold his boat.

 

[rdradu]

Well, I got the stator housing off no problem and will run to Outlaw Marine to pick up the socket. Like your typical "back-yarder", I somehow thought I would be able to jerry-rig a solution to get the impeller off, but not a chance. :willy_nilly: Only thing is I think that they are gouging me as the I was quoted $90. Oh well, I will be ready for everything next time.

 

[rdradu]

Well, got everything apart but could not get access to the steering cable nut, so I could not physically remove the stator. I applied the JB Weld anyhow and the finished product looked great. The impeller had some nicks, so I used my rotary tool to put a very sharp, smooth edge on the impeller, and then buttoned everything back together with no problems, so I thought I had her licked. No go though as the cavitation is worse than ever - she slips and slips, and only grabs if I feather the throttle.

Long story sort, I am towing her to Outlaw Eagle next week, which really sucks because it's supposed to be beautiful.:cuss:

Sigh....

 

[rdradu]

Well, got everything apart but could not get access to the steering cable nut, so I could not physically remove the stator. I applied the JB Weld anyhow and the finished product looked great. The impeller had some nicks, so I used my rotary tool to put a very sharp, smooth edge on the impeller, and then buttoned everything back together with no problems, so I thought I had her licked. No go though as the cavitation is worse than ever - she slips and slips, and only grabs if I feather the throttle.

Long story sort, I am towing her to Outlaw Eagle next week, which really sucks because it's supposed to be beautiful.:cuss:

Sigh....

Well, as it turned out, my repair worked. I just had the bad timing to suck a rope on my first test drive. On the up side though, Outlaw said that everything looked great.

 

[WAJetboating]

Well, got everything apart but could not get access to the steering cable nut, so I could not physically remove the stator.

Not sure how you couldn't remove the stator. Removing that is easy. Are you speaking of the wear ring? I agree loosening the cable nut on that can be a challenge but it can be done.

Glad it all worked out, though. Nice job on the repairs... most shops would criticize anything except you spending money to have them fix it for you. That they'd compliment you really says something!

 

[rdradu]

Exactly Wajet - I did mean the wear ring - thanks for catching that.

Yes, I have to thank Rookie101 for pointing me to them and it's a bonus that they are only 20 minutes away.
Cheers!:cheers:

 

[redseal]

What kind of oil do you refill the stator with? Can you get synthetic 75-90 gear oil from an auto store?

 

[WAJetboating]

What kind of oil do you refill the stator with? Can you get synthetic 75-90 gear oil from an auto store?

Mercury High Performance Gear Lube Plus. It comes in 32 ounce bottles from any Mercury dealer (it's used in a wide variety of their engines). You'll need two bottles if you're doing both ends of the impeller shaft, but one will do if all you're refilling is the stator.

If you don't already have one, you'll also need the hand pump. The same dealers should carry that as well. It screws right into the top of the bottles.

 

[rdradu]

If you don't already have one, you'll also need the hand pump. The same dealers should carry that as well. It screws right into the top of the bottles.

Agreed WAJet, I did my first service last year and my dealer almost insisted that I get the hand pump and I was very grateful that they did. Not sure how one would fill the bottom housing without this tool - turn the boat upside down

 

[Jimmihs]

Stator removal tool

Hello. Hoping somoneone can help with my dilemma.

This is an '02 240efi M2 Mercury Drive. I'm trying to remove my impeller to have it refurbished. I've removed the nozzle assembly without a problem, and have removed the 4 stator bolts and the 2 screws holding the trim plate to the ride plate. My manual says that after this is done... "Remove stator assembly." Yeah, right.

The stator is still firmly attached to the wear ring and I've even tapped on it a bit, thinking maybe it's a bit of corrosion holding it in. It doesn't budge. The exploded view of the parts in the manual doesn't show if the end of the impeller shaft actually sits in the seal in the center of the stator. If so, could the impeller shaft be frozen in there? Here's a link to the appropriate section of the manual:



I know that my marina had this apart last year and replaced the seal in there. The service manager at that time is no longer there, and they only occasionally work on jet drives so I'm hoping one of you gurus can shed some light. Thanks.

Mike

HI, I had the same problem to soulve it I made this tool.

 

[MulchTroll]

For the removal tool, does it need to be a long socket or a deep socket? I've found some for sale but they don't look like deep sockets. I was wondering if I could get a long extension on a large enough socket.