Hello everyone
I thought I would share my experience repairing my Merc wear ring. While mine was not badly damaged, it did have some wear. The clearance between impeller and ring was about 1/16 inch. I wanted it a little smoother and less clearance. At first, I tried a product called "Devcon", an epoxy type putty. It worked as far as filling and smoothing. There was no rubbing when test-run on the trailer. BUT, in the water, the Devcon was completely gone in 10 minutes.
New plan: 3 oz. fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. The cloth helps maintain a uniform thickness. Cut the cloth to width and length dry. Cover the water holes with small patches of masking tape. Use only enough resin to saturate the cloth. If you need more build-up, use another layer of cloth and resin. After curing, I used an xacto knife to cut through the cloth/resin for the water holes and sanded with 220 grit, then sprayed the repair. The ring is smooth and the clearance is about 1/32 inch. This repair was done 2 years ago, and it is holding up well. Total cost: about $10.
I am running a Solas impeller, but I cannot tell any improvement over the OEM impeller.
Hint: Stay in deeper water!
I thought I would share my experience repairing my Merc wear ring. While mine was not badly damaged, it did have some wear. The clearance between impeller and ring was about 1/16 inch. I wanted it a little smoother and less clearance. At first, I tried a product called "Devcon", an epoxy type putty. It worked as far as filling and smoothing. There was no rubbing when test-run on the trailer. BUT, in the water, the Devcon was completely gone in 10 minutes.
New plan: 3 oz. fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin. The cloth helps maintain a uniform thickness. Cut the cloth to width and length dry. Cover the water holes with small patches of masking tape. Use only enough resin to saturate the cloth. If you need more build-up, use another layer of cloth and resin. After curing, I used an xacto knife to cut through the cloth/resin for the water holes and sanded with 220 grit, then sprayed the repair. The ring is smooth and the clearance is about 1/32 inch. This repair was done 2 years ago, and it is holding up well. Total cost: about $10.
I am running a Solas impeller, but I cannot tell any improvement over the OEM impeller.
Hint: Stay in deeper water!
