Changed booster pump seal. Leak gone but pump seized?

[tturkstr]

I moved in this summer to my house with my first pool. The Polaris booster pump was leaking a fair bit but it seemed to work well and cleaned the pool.

Based on advice, I bought a new seal kit. (Pool store guy said don't bother with a new big or little O-ring, now I don't know). Leak solved, or so I thought. I hadn't used the Polaris in a few weeks because the kids were vacuuming the pool manually.

Anyway, I went to start the booster pump and it just hummed for about 5 seconds and shut off. I can turn the motor by hand about 5 degrees back and forth. I disassembled the pump again and I can still only turn the rotor about 5 degrees, no further.

Here's a pic from before. I don't remember the shaft being as corroded as it is now:

Here's what the shaft looks like now:

Can this be saved or do I need a new motor? Should I replace the whole booster? It seems very odd that the motor is not siezed; I can move it back and forth about 5 degrees, almost like there was something stuck in it.

Ouch!

 

[stev32k]

Did you try to remove the motor from the pump and see if the impeller will turn freely?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Sounds like a bearing siezed in the motor. You can replace them but it may be better to replace the entire motor.

 

[tturkstr]

OK, I took the pump apart again. After I took off the impeller, I had the same problem that the motor shaft would only rotate a few degrees. But with a pliers, I was able to rotate the shaft all the way around. It seemed a bit gritty, but seems better now. Is there a way to lube the bearings? My search for how to disassemble the motor came up empty. Any suggestions? If I have to replace the motor, it's probably not a lot more to replace the whole pump/motor...

Is there a good way to clean off all this salt? The motor says on it not to spray it with water...

Thanks, Tim

 

[Bama Rambler]

You can use a wire brush to clean it up.

There's no 'lubing' the bearings once they've siezed. Replacement is the only option.

From the looks of that motor, I'd replace the whole thing but if you'll take the cover off the outboard end (opposite the shaft) you will see some thru-bolts. You remove those to dismantle the motor. You'll have to pull the bearings out once you've done that. You're going to need to get that shaft cleaned really well before removing the bearing from it. Sanding is probably the best way with fine grit emory cloth.

 

[DBfan187]

That is calcium scale, not salt buildup.