AO Smith/Hayward Pool Pump Motor-Through Bolds Rusted SPII

[etbrown44]

Anybody who has attempted to replace bearings in one of these motors has almost surely run into the problem of rusted through bolts. IE, you can't get the motor apart to access the bearings,

Have tried:
WD 40
PB blaster
Heat on the motor end plate - shaft side
Tiny movements in and out on the bolts to free them up

When all else fails, I just break them off, get inside and eventually extract the broken bolt or drill them out. Just hate to do it that way.

Has anybody else found any better ways, as there must be one!!

 

[Ohm_Boy]

Re: AO Smith/Hayward Pool Pump Motor-Through Bolds Rusted SP

Sometimes, you just have to cut them. Or grind off the head or nut and pull the bolt out. If there's a motor shop nearby, they probably have a box or two of motor bolts lying around and may just give you some, but you can just as readily replace them with some "all-thread" threaded rod and a few nuts. Cut to length and file off the sharp burrs. ProTip: run a nut onto the threads before you cut the rod. Then you can back off the nut afterwards, using it to clean up the threads.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Re: AO Smith/Hayward Pool Pump Motor-Through Bolds Rusted SP

You've done everything most repair folks would do so you'll most likely have to wring them off and drill them out once it's apart.

 

[bkreps]

Re: AO Smith/Hayward Pool Pump Motor-Through Bolds Rusted SP

Just dealt with this last night with my Hayward Powerflow XL 1580. I heated the broken bolt stubs and unfortunately that caused two of the four threaded inserts in the plastic pump housing to pull out. Called the people at intheswim.com and they wanted nearly $7.00 per bolt. They suggested any hardware store would have these 7" bolts for a whole lot less. I also thought the threaded rod approach would be a suitable remedy, along with removing and applying a Teflon lubricant to the bolt threads annually to fend off rust and oxidation.