Noisy Motor

Johnl · Jun 4, 2009

I have an AO Smith 1.5 HP motor running through a Crystal Water SVL56 pump. The pump/motor is only 4 yrs old, but has been getting louder since we opened the pool this year. However, the noise isn't consistent in that it's sometimes loud and sometimes not. When the bearings start to fail is the noise consistent or can it come and go as I'm experiencing?

I don't want to pay to replace the motor if it's something else. What do you think?

alben · Jun 4, 2009

First make sure the noise is not coming from the equipment base that the pump is resting on. In my situation, the equipment base is a large, black, plastic/fiberglass type thing. sometimes if there is a slight gap between the pump base and the equipment base, there is a loud vibratory sound. Putting a couple of wood shims between the motor base and equipment base solved that.

And of course, it could be the bearings in the motor. I took my motor to the local motor repair shop and it was $45 to replace the bearings.

Johnl · Jun 4, 2009

Thanks for the response. It's definitely coming from the motor itself.

How long did it take the motor shop to do the repair? Was it while you waited or did you have to leave it for a period of time?

alben · Jun 4, 2009

I suppose motor repair shops vary in their turn around time. A.O. Smith is a common motor brand. I live in a small town (< 15K) so it took 3 days.

Cassiopeia · Jun 4, 2009

This is a problem we are having too. The pool store said they would fix it, just bring the motor to them. I supposed the bearings would be replaced. However it LOOKS very difficult to get the motor off. My son would attempt this......is it very difficult?

reebok · Jun 4, 2009

made by waterway right? if it is, it looks like 4 screws should get it off.
http://www.waterwayplastics.com/manuals ... 9.1108.pdf
leslies and pinch a penny both usually have service dept's, at least around the tampa area. so you can price shop if you haven't already.

shooterclay · Jun 7, 2009

check your yellow pages under electric motors and you'll probably have someone local that repairs them.

i was about to replace ours til someone recommended doing this. they turned ours around in one day but it did run us $90. btw, ours was making noise intermittantly for a season and progressively got worse til is was constant.

also, make sure they replace the seal which i think most of them do anyway..

MJCP · Jun 13, 2009

I just finished replacing my motor.
The motor was under $170 and it was an exact replacement, the process took less than a day.
The Hardest part was the wiring because I was working in pretty cramped quarters.

Someone on here told me last year to replace the bearings when the noise was more than I could bear, but the day I ordered the new motor, the old one completely seized up. Luckily I received the motor the next day Whew!!!

The process of taking the motor out to take it to a shop for rebuild is the same as taking it out to swap in the new one, So if they charge $90 for a set of bearings and $170 for a brand new motor - Well I opted for the New Motor.

Good luck!