Replacing shaft seal

[AimeeH]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question but we have no experience maintaining the mechanical equipment of our pool but are attempting to replace what we think is a leaking shaft seal.

My question is about water level and removing the pump. We have drained below the skimmers with the filter on waist and gravity. I've now set the filter to closed and I've closed all valves leading to the pump basket. However, we are still getting water coming to the basket in a decent amount. Common sense is because our equipment is downhill and below the water line.

Is a small amount of water still entering the system too prohibitive to pulling out the pump and putting it back on? Or should we wait until water level drops and stops entering the basket altogether?....which will we a huge drain for us do to the equipment being downhill?

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

 

[AimeeH]

Answers my own question on that one. Now.....

Following the directions by using a wrench on the back end to hold the thingy and unscrew the impeller counterclockwise.........it will not unscrew with all available force. Anything else to try?

 

[Agent99]

Get more available force?

Get a bigger wrench or add a bar to extend your current wrench to allow more torque using the same force. It might help break things free.

Just be careful...make sure all tools are well secured and won't slip. Get help if you need it.

 

[AimeeH]

The wrench is just holding the back steady (lodges in place) and can not get the impeller to turn. Running to ace to attempt to get a strap wrench.

Really want to fix this ourselves and not need to call in a professional.

 

[Agent99]

Ah...gotcha. I assumed you could put a wrench on the impeller side...my bad. Yeah, they can be a bear to remove and not break. There are a few videos on YouTube that show you have to remove various kinds.

 

[JamesW]

Some impellers have a screw in the center that needs to be removed first. Check for the screw.

Note: Impeller screws are reverse thread, so you turn them clockwise to remove.

What pump do you have?

 

[AimeeH]

Thanks everyone. The owners Manuel directions don't mention a screw. the thing that is there looks like one but with no notch for a screwdriver (forgive my overuse of highly mechanical terms).

Gonna try the strap wrench but so far this thing just won't budge.

 

[JamesW]

What pump do you have?

 

[AimeeH]

Hayward super pump series. C48L2N134B1

- - - Updated - - -

We got the impeller off with the strap wrench but replacement part didn't seem to fit like the original. Kind of made it work and we will see once we fill 'er back up and turn on.

 

[JamesW]

There is a rubber part on both sides of the seal. When removing the seal, the rubber part can sometimes be left on the impeller or in the seal plate. If the new seal didn't seem to fit correctly, I would check to see if the rubber parts were left stuck in place.

Tip: A little bit of soap can help when installing the new seal.

 

[AimeeH]

Thanks JamesW

The new part had a metal part that was not on the old one as part of the assembly. The parts spec sheet matched up with what our owners manual said. It was Viton 201v and it said it was a replacement part for the Hayward part spx100z2.

 

[JamesW]

The rubber parts that I was referring to are part of the old seal. Sometimes, when removing the two parts of the old seal, the rubber parts can come loose and be left behind. This can be easy to miss.

 

[AimeeH]

Roger that.

Keeping everything in the same thread.......this all started when I noticed bubbles from one of the returns nearest the pump. I went to the pump and noticed the cement pad below it was wet and hubby identified the water dripping from the pump itself ......not the basket.

We've now replaced that seal that was the subject of this thread. We have the water up enough to run the pump so we fired her up. The pump does not appear to be dripping like it was before. It sounds a little different. And the pressure seems to be in line.
But I'm still (in the first 10 minutes) seeing bubbles from that return nearest the pump. It looks like it burps about every 30 seconds.