cracked front housing

[solrx]

I found a big leak in my front housing yesterday. I thought it was just the O-ring that went out, but found a giant crack under the band clamp (see pic). I'd like to try to tackle this myself, but I'm not sure exactly what I need to do the job aside from a replacement front housing unit and a new pump union...the previous owners used some sort of sealant on the old one so I'll have to cut it off. Is this doable for a newbie or should I just pay up and let a pro take care of it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Divin Dave]

Well,
thats not too good.

You have 2 options really
1 is replace the whole pump
2 is to replace the housing only. You will need to get the make and model number from the Pump assembly and google the owners manual and find the part numbers you need. If you rebuild it, you'll also most likely need to go ahead and replace the front seals, which prevent water ingression into the electric motor.

As a DIY job, replacing the whole pump would be a 2, on a scale of 5 *pretty easy*. If you can simply repeat the wiring, and do some pvc cutting and gluing, then thats all there is to it a pump replacement.

Replacing the housing and seal would prolly be a 3.5 on a scale of 5. fairly involved, as you have to disassemble the whole wet end of the pump and reassemble it.
Likely you may well end up disconnecting it from teh plumbing and electric also, so that you can put it on a table or bench to work on it.

difficulty rating of course depending on how handy you are..... what would be a 2 to me, may be a 6 to somone else.

 

[solrx]

Thanks for the info. I think I might consult with a local company first before moving forward.

 

[robl45]

Replacing the housing to me would be easier than replacing the full pump, Less PVC to cut, and likely could turn off the breaker and avoid any messing with electrical wires. However, depending on the pump type and electrical rates, it might be worth moving to a variable speed pump.

EDIT: just to add, I don't know whats up with these pumps, I had an old Hayward pump at my last house, changed the motor at least 3 times and the pump must be probably 25 years old. No housing issues. Get to my newer house and the Jandy pump has a crack in the housing, and I'm always seeing threads about cracks in the housings on many pumps.