Kohler 7.3 impeller spun on it's shaft


G

Groovitz

New member
We ran the generator for 48 hrs straight with absolutely NO problems. I checked the coolant level 4 times during that run time and everything was fine. On the third day of our trip we shut the Gen down for the day. Upon start up that evening, I immediately checked for water discharge out the exhaust. NONE! I shut it down manually and then restarted it. Both times the Gen started right up, but again no water discharge. I shut it down, and we lived on house batteries for the last day. When I got around to pulling the impeller housing off, I expected to find the impeller missing vanes or in pieces. It was fully intact. Nothing wrong with it. EXCEPT that I discovered that the center brass D channel had become separated from the rubber vanes. Apparently sometime during the 48 hr run time this occurred and I assume that the momentum or siphon effect of the water flow just kept going. However, once stopped it was never going to be able to start moving water while the shaft spun freely inside the impeller. Just for your info people.
 
It looks like poor quality unless for some oddball reason something attacked the rubber causing it to separate from the insert. Also looks like the bore in the impeller is slightly too big. Chinese part?
 
How long had it been since the last impeller change, I change mine every three years and have noticed the impeller looses it's flexibility over time. It could also be a temperature issue separating the rubber from the brass.
 
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