Suction side leak at pump

[brian928]

Hello,
My 1st post here. I've been lurking for about 3 years now and this site has made my pool a trouble free pool.
We've been experiencing bubbles in the jets the last couple of weeks. The water level was low, so added water.
Still lots of bubbles. Checked the pump filter cover, cleaned and lubed the gasket and double checked the installation of
it. Still bubbles in the pump filter and in the jets. Checked it today and the pump is only pulling about half of the water
into it. I've turned off the skimmers and main drain valves to isolate the leak, but none of those changed anything. The only
thing in common with this is the pipe that connects from the valves to the pump. At the pump intake I can hear a hissing
when the pump is turned off, and I can see the water level in the pump go down.

I'm pretty confident that the leak is at the pvc to pump connection. How is this connected? Is it the white pvc glued to a
black part which is screwed to the black pump housing? And how to take this apart and reseal it? Will I need pvc pipe, etc...
I've attached a couple pictures of the setup.

Thank you for your help,
Brian
Dallas, TX

 

[pooldv]

Yes, the black pipe is screwed into the pump housing and sealed with Teflon tape or pipe dope. Order some unions to fit the pump and redo the connection.

More here on hunting down a suction leak, Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks

 

[brian928]

Thanks Pooldv. I've done a little more investigating, reading the TFP page, and youtube. The leak is definitely at the screw in part to the pump housing. The slab has settled and I can lift up on this section and reduce the air leak. This kind of repair is within my capabilities, but can you give me guidance and a shopping list to reduce trips to home depot and frustration levels?

Thank you,
Brian
Dallas