ARCO WP002 Raw-Water Pump Impeller & Housing, Indmar Ford 302

If you run an inboard with an Indmar-built Ford 302, the raw-water pump is the part that keeps the whole engine alive. This ARCO Marine WP002 is the complete impeller and housing assembly, so you're getting the pump body with the impeller already seated inside, ready to bolt on and prime. It's a direct OEM-style replacement for the raw-water pump on the Indmar 302 Ford, which means it lines up with the factory mounting and plumbing instead of leaving you to fight fitment.

Here's what this pump actually does. Your Ford 302 is sea-water cooled, so it pulls lake or sea water in and pushes it through the engine to carry heat away. That flow comes from the impeller spinning inside this housing. The impeller is the wear part. Its vanes flex against the housing wall to move water, and over seasons they take a set, crack, or shed a blade. When that happens you lose flow, and a 302 that isn't moving enough water will run hot fast. So this is one of those parts you don't want to cheap out on or ignore.

We like ARCO for engine parts because they've been doing this a long time. Nearly 60 years building marine alternators, starters, tilt and trim motors, and pumps, and they test every unit past normal operating conditions before it ships. For a cooling-system part, that matters. A raw-water pump lives in a brutal spot, with constant water, heat cycling, and vibration coming off the crank. You want one built to survive that, not a bargain casting that weeps at the shaft seal after a dozen hours.

Who's this for? Owners of inboard ski and wake boats running the Indmar Ford 302, whether you're doing a planned cooling-system refresh, chasing an overheat, or rebuilding the front of the engine and want a fresh pump on there while it's apart. If you've been nursing a tired pump that whines or leaves a rusty drip under the mount, this is the fix. Swap the whole assembly and you reset the clock on both the housing and the impeller at once.

Why go with the complete housing instead of just an impeller? Two reasons. First, the housing itself wears. The inside wall the impeller seals against wears a groove over time, and once that surface is scored, even a brand-new impeller won't seal well or last. Second, replacing the whole assembly is often faster and cleaner than fishing a stubborn old impeller out of a corroded housing on the water. You bolt on a known-good unit and you're done. If you've ever spent an hour picking crumbled impeller blades out of a pump on a rocking boat, you know why a lot of folks just swap the whole thing.

Install is straightforward for anyone comfortable turning wrenches on a marine engine. You'll pull the old pump, clean the mounting surface, set a fresh gasket, and bolt this one in its place. Line up your hoses, prime it, and check for good water flow at the exhaust once she fires. A couple of tips from experience: keep a spare impeller in the boat even with a fresh pump, because a run-dry situation can still chew one up, and never spin a raw-water pump dry without water to the intake. Thirty seconds dry is all it takes to cook an impeller.

How long will it last? That depends on your water and your hours. Boats running in silty, sandy, or salty water tend to wear impellers faster because grit acts like sandpaper on the vanes. A good habit is to pull and inspect the impeller at least once a season, or any time you notice weaker water flow at the exhaust or higher-than-normal temps. Catch a tired impeller early and you save yourself an overheat that can warp a head or cook a manifold. This assembly gives you a fresh start on both the pump body and the impeller.

One honest note on fitment. This is built for the Indmar Ford 302 application. If you've got a 351 or a different engine family, this isn't your pump, so confirm you're actually running the 302 before you order. If you're not sure, check the ID tag on the engine or match your old pump's part number. Get the right one and this is a bolt-on afternoon job that puts your cooling system back to factory spec.