No I do not have any pictures. It is stiff in reverse as well as forward. The steering gets stiffer with increasing rpms. It has also been the same after changing o-rings. I do not know what the bowl vanes should look like or if they are worn. I do remember from my last rebuild the vanes on the impellor side of the bowl are not straight. More like a concave toward the bowl. It gets very tiring turning while pulling tubers or turning alot at speed.

What size cable would you use? Would you drill it for a bulkhead type of cable?

Heading down tonite thru Sunday be mostly at Goose Flats.

Had such a great time last weekend, so I'm going again this weekend. Anyone else going this weekend? Will be hanging at Gooseflats. Look for red and black Advantage.

Anyone going to be out this weekend?

So I disassembled my pump and noticed on the impeller side of the bowl the leading edges of the vanes are very rounded and worn. My question is , are they supposed to be sharp? And if so can I grind them with a die grinder to sharpen them and to smooth out the casting? Is it worth the time doing this or should I just leave it alone. The pump is an AT 309 in a 20.5 closed bow Advantage Classic, with a mild 454 BBC, 10-1 comp mild cam lighting headers. I lost the thrust bearing and ate up the impeller pretty badly, got lucky no other damage. Shaft is straight and there isn't any bluing, the suction housing doesn't have any wear. Which is surprising considering how bad the impeller is worn. I will try to post some pics. Any help will be appreciated, I am trying to get it back together for the fourth. If I don't get it back together I will be floating at the river regardless. I guess I can drink more beer then. 

Thanks again,
Pat

Pump made some very bad noises and locked up. Took pump out off the boat this afternoon, front seal was wasted and ball bearings fell out. Tomorrow I hope to pull the impeller and inspect everything else out. What do I need to look for before rebuilding it? This will be my first pump rebuild, would like to try and get it done for the 4rth. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Pat

Got lucky I guess, with the weird noise my boat made and the way it locked up I thought the motor was toast. Looks like it was the jet. Metal shavings in the boat near the grease zerk. Getting ready to remove the pump from the boat after lunch. Hope to have it repaired for the fourth.

Getting ready to head out. Probably be down at Goose Flats. Look for red and black Advantage.

We usually hang above Mayflower or go down to Gooseflats.

Thanks for all of your comments. The pump is equipped with a turbine trim without a droop. Also the noise gets louder when the pump finally grabs and starts pumping. The top speed is down from 64 mph to 56 mph on a hand held GPS.  I have gotten four good years of boating on this pump since the last rebuild. Most of the time has been split between Parker and Blythe. Approx 350 hours since the rebuild.
I am going to pull the pump after this weekend. Would a droop help my advantage 20.5 classic closed bow gain more speed? Thanks for all of your help. Patch

I grease the u-joints every other trip, along with the thrust bearing. I grease the zerk inside of the noozle after every outing.

Done