Stripped Nut Insert

[Tharp]

Hey guys,

First time poster.

Had a Hayward Super II pump motor go out on me. The "POP" and blue spark made it pretty clear the motor was bad.
Anyway when I went to remove the motor housing one of the bolts holding it to the wet end just spun and wouldn't loosen. After sleeping on it, figured I might as well hacksaw the bolt head off. At least then the motor will be off and I can get a better look at what is going on.

Whats left of the bolt just spins along with the nut that's in the leaf basket housing. Has anyone had this happen and know some way to get it out? I tried putting some two part epoxy on the edge of the nut, hoping it would grip long enough for the bolt to break loose. It didn't.

Really not looking forward to replacing the whole assembly, because of one bolt.

Thanks
Tharp

 

[zea3]

Have you tried using 2 vise grip needle nose pliers? You may need a helper to hold one end still while you attempt to turn the other end. I also recommend some gloves because one of you is going to end up with scraped knuckles.

 

[maxepr1]

At this point the only thing you can do is stake the insert in and hope that you can remove the rest of the bolt. Take a punch and put dimples in the case around the insert until the insert has enough pressure around it that it won't spin. Once you get out the bolt out and I would soak the bolt in liquid wrench for a few hours beforehand, your going to have replace the insert. Oversize the hole and put a larger insert in. Or just get a new seal plate.$$$$ Easy-out may be needed to remove the remainder of the bolt.

 

[Tharp]

Thanks for the responses.

Z that is a good idea but there isn't enough of the insert to grab. The insert is totally flush, can't get it to budge out any.

Max might try the dimple technique, definitely something you can't come back from. But I'm about there. The seal plate is fine, I cut the bolt head to slide it and the motor assembly off. I think the bolt is called the housing cap screw. It's one of the middle ones and is stuck spinning in the strainer housing.

Once I can get it out, the world opens up to fixes...once it's out :grrrr:

 

[smorlock]

I had the stripped nut insert problem with the Super 2. Three of the brass inserts on one side of the housing came completely out of the housing. Now when I try attach wet and dry ends together with the six bolts, at least one of them just sits and spins with the insert. Someone above mentioned oversizing the hole and using a larger insert. Where would I get a larger insert? Thanks.

p.s. This pump is 2 years old and the warranty is 1 year. I will never buy a Hayward Pump again and urge others to avoid them as well!

 

[JamesW]

Hayward makes an insert to repair this type of problem. Part number SP1600TAP. If you heat the bolt, you should be able to pull the old insert out. Pull on the bolt while heating.

 

[smorlock]

Thanks for the help. My next step would have been to buy that repair tap set. Prices vary greatly for that online BTW. But I really did not want to give Hayward even more of my money to fix their defective product. :x
So instead I was able to gently hammer the offending inserts back in to the housing. I then used a 200W soldering iron to heat the inserts for about a minute each, until I could smell the pump housing melt a little. I moved the soldering iron tip around so that the heat was distributed evenly each time. I left the pump alone for a few hours for the inserts to cool off and set in well. When I inserted the bolts, amazingly, it all worked. The inserts stayed in place and I was able to seal the housing with no leaks!

 

[RSR1960]

Thanks for the responses.

Z that is a good idea but there isn't enough of the insert to grab. The insert is totally flush, can't get it to budge out any.

Max might try the dimple technique, definitely something you can't come back from. But I'm about there. The seal plate is fine, I cut the bolt head to slide it and the motor assembly off. I think the bolt is called the housing cap screw. It's one of the middle ones and is stuck spinning in the strainer housing.

Once I can get it out, the world opens up to fixes...once it's out :grrrr:

Tharp: I am in the EXACT same situation you were in. Did you ever get the bolt out? If so, how did you do it?

 

[Cochran5252]

Tharp: I am in the EXACT same situation you were in. Did you ever get the bolt out? If so, how did you do it?

Ok this happened to me today and my searching brought me to this post so I figured I would share a fairly simple fix that I used today. First I would try like another user suggested with two vice grips applying pressure to try to break it loose. If that doesn’t work soak the bolt in WD-40. I took the smallest drill bit I had and drilled a hole through the brass flange on the housing inserts. Insert a small screw in the flange to hold it while you take some vice grips and unscrew the bolt. If it continues to move put another screw on the other side just make sure you are drilling through the flange (it is very small) I was able to remove the bolt easily after I held the insert with screws.