Replacing Skimmer Gasket -Help needed

[ePoolUser]

Hi all,
I opened the pool to find the skimmer gasket leaking. It's the gasket between the wide mouth skimmer and the regular skimmer attached to it. Looking from the pool into the skimmer I see 4 screws that hold the skimmer onto the wide mouth. I removed these 4 screws (2 on each side) and the top of the skimmer came loose but the lower section held tight. So tight I think there must be screws in the bottom, but don't see where they are or how to get to them. If there are screws in the bottom I'll have to remove the wide mouth from the pool side. That project scares me.

The wide mouth is model 8939. Does anyone know how to remove this and if it could have screws in the bottom?

I tried prying the skimmer loose, but the plastic seems very brittle and will surely break if I try any firmer.

Any advice on how this is assembled is much appreciated.

TIA,
Steve

 

[cubbybeave08]

Hi all,
I opened the pool to find the skimmer gasket leaking. It's the gasket between the wide mouth skimmer and the regular skimmer attached to it. Looking from the pool into the skimmer I see 4 screws that hold the skimmer onto the wide mouth. I removed these 4 screws (2 on each side) and the top of the skimmer came loose but the lower section held tight. So tight I think there must be screws in the bottom, but don't see where they are or how to get to them. If there are screws in the bottom I'll have to remove the wide mouth from the pool side. That project scares me.

The wide mouth is model 8939. Does anyone know how to remove this and if it could have screws in the bottom?

I tried prying the skimmer loose, but the plastic seems very brittle and will surely break if I try any firmer.

Any advice on how this is assembled is much appreciated.

TIA,
Steve

Can you take and post pictures of the situation...This might help people to see what you are seeing.

 

[ePoolUser]

I'm not able to take pictures of it, but if anyone is familiar with a Wide mouth skimmer perhaps they know if it is possible to have screws on top and bottom of the regular skimmer where it mounts to the wide mouth. I don't see anyway possible for there to be screws on the top and bottom due to no access to tighten or remove them, but I've never seen one of these disassembled and may be missing something.

I found an exploded view of the 8939 but it only shows 1 screw in place, and not where it helps me. It does plainly show screw holes, but no screws on top and bottom where the skimmer joins the wide mouth. As I said previously mine only has visible the 4 screws installed on the sides. The top popped loose after removing those 4 side screws, but the bottom is stuck fast. My local dealer was not much help (not their fault) and told me to try to patch it as a new wide mouth could take until JUNE to come in stock if I broke it trying to pry it apart. YIKES!

TIA.

 

[MikeInTN]

I took my widemouth apart one time, and best I remember, there's only the four screws you see when you look in from poolside.

I'd check online and see if you could get one more quickly than what your local dealer says. I'd bet you could, if worse came to worse and you cracked it trying to separate it. When trying to find an exploded parts view for yours, I found both the Swimline and Hayward widemouths listed at several sites.

Btw, howdy neighbor!

 

[ePoolUser]

Thanks Mike. I'm gonna go for it and pry it apart. As is, I can't use the pool 'cause it leaks too bad. If I break it, it will cost me more, either way I can start using the pool. Wish me luck!!!

 

[ePoolUser]

Well, I pryed and pulled and low and behold found 2 screws in the bottom of the skimmer holding it fast to the wide mouth.

These 2 screws do not have any access for me to get to them without removing the wide mouth from the pool, SO, what are the dangers of removing the wide mouth skimmer and how to do it?

My concerns are the liner sagging. Do I need to lower the water? What do I need to know before I remove the wide mouth from the pool wall?

Pics-
Birds eye view revealing the 2 hidden screws in the bottom of the skimmer, holding it to the wide mouth.

2 loose screws above the relative positions of the hidden screws in the bottom, showing no matching screws inline to remove from inside the pool.

View showing no access to screws outside the pool.

As always any advice is appreciated.

TIA,
Steve

 

[MikeInTN]

Well Crud..my widemouth didn't have any screws like that. In fact, I ended up flipping the widemouth part over on mine because I had a crack develop in the bottom of it, which caused a leak.

When I took mine apart, I just drained the water down until it was three or four inches below the skimmer, and then removed it. I didn't have any problems with the liner sagging. Just be careful when removing and installing the screws in the faceplate so you don't drop any in the pool. I put a small stepladder beside the pool so I could lean over the rail a bit and not have to take them out and put them in by feel.

 

[Pathfinder]

You should have four screws on the wall side of the skimmer. You will have to lower your water to 2 or 3 inches below your trim plate in order to have enough room to unscrew the bottom screws.(a stubby works great) The liner wont sag when you take off the top rail & peel back the section of liner. When you install your new skimmer make sure you have your wall gasket which covers in inner and outer wall & your gasket that goes between your trim plate & liner. You should also tighten the screws evenly to ensure a proper fit.

 

[ePoolUser]

The liner wont sag when you take off the top rail & peel back the section of liner. When you install your new skimmer make sure you have your wall gasket which covers in inner and outer wall & your gasket that goes between your trim plate & gasket. You should also tighten the screws evenly to ensure a proper fit.

Do I really have to take off the top rail and peel back the liner? I don't understand how these things fit together. I need to find a picture.

Thanks for all advice.

Steve

 

[SMWill42]

Hi Steve,

We had to replace skimmer last year. Had PB to come and replace. It cost $50 for wide mouth skimmer and labor. Well worth it since husband knows nothing about pool maintenance. He replaced GFCI outlet for pool and it still did not work. Had to get electrical engineer brother to drive 1 and 1/2 hours 2 days later to just push the reset button on the outlet. Anyway worth the visit for both of us.

The PB did not have to take off the top cap. The skimmer face plate was stuck to the vinyl on the pool and he was afraid he would rip it but took it off anyway. This did not rip. He would have been responsible if it had.

It may be worth it to see what your pool store will charge for this.

Susan

 

[MikeInTN]

The liner wont sag when you take off the top rail & peel back the section of liner. When you install your new skimmer make sure you have your wall gasket which covers in inner and outer wall & your gasket that goes between your trim plate & gasket. You should also tighten the screws evenly to ensure a proper fit.

Do I really have to take off the top rail and peel back the liner? I don't understand how these things fit together. I need to find a picture.

Thanks for all advice.

Steve

I didn't have to. I had a gasket that went between the trim plate and the liner, and another that went betweeen the skimmer and the wall. Probably wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of hands to hold the skimmer in place until you can get a few screws started, too.

 

[Pathfinder]

In my first post I meant to say liner not gasket. If the liner is an overlap then yes you will have to take off the top caps on either side of the skimmer then take off the top rail & peel back the liner. If you try to unscrew the skimmer through the cut out you can deform the liner and have issues lining everything back up. If you are really unsure about removing & installing the skimmer it would be well worth it to have a pro come out. If you take the the water down to the proper level then call a service guy, with drive time to install it should be less than an hour. As mentioned earlier if you are going to DIY extra help is always good. When putting on the trim plate using 2 thin tipped screwdrivers or scratch awls in the screw holes can help line everything up when putting in the first couple screws.

 

[ePoolUser]

To wrap up this thread, I did remove the skimmer and replace it. The screws holding the skimmer to the wide mouth could only be reached by removing the widemouth from the pool. In the end it was no big deal, but going into it was frightning. It was totally uneventful and easy to replace.

Thanks to all who offered advice.

Steve