Polaris 280 Wheel Issues-FIXED!

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S

Sprocket

0
LifeTime Supporter
Aug 29, 2011
107
Central Florida
My Polaris 280 barely moves at all. It basically sits on its front wheel with its back end up at about a 45 degree angle. I checked the wall filter screen and it is fine. The backup valve is leaking a little water all the time so I ordered a replacement, but it can't be losing enough water to make a difference.

When I turn the front wheel by hand, it is the only wheel that moves, and the sound reminds me of the sound of something stripped. The small center wheel and rear wheel spin freely, and the single wheel on the other side seems to have normal resistance.

Any suggestions?
 
Re: Polaris 280 Wheel Issues

Took the 280 up to the local pool store since I needed liquid chlorine anyway. They said the wheels are shot, bearings shot and on and on. It does wobble pretty bad and I can now see the teeth inside the wheels are in bad shape. They suggested it needed the tune up kit. The price of course is twice what I can buy it for on Ebay but they don't charge for labor. They suggested it is probably worth getting a new one which I would rather not do right now.

I looked at what is included in the tune up kit and it looks like a comprehensive overhaul. If I have never opened one of these up, how hard and time consuming is it to install everything in the kit?
 
Re: Polaris 280 Wheel Issues

I did a tune up on mine when I bought my home - to be honest it pretty easy and straight forward. There is not a ton of moving parts and things come apart easy. I would say buy the kit online for as little $$ as possible and do the tune up yourself.

good luck and post back!
 
I received my tune up kit and tore my 280 down last night. I found the turbine hose was disconnected due to a broken clamp while I was in there. This may have been part of the problem, but only part. I was able to re-install the hose using a zip tie and it seems to be holding.

Other than that, the plastic screw holding the idler wheel on was worn flat, and I had to pry it up to get it off. A couple of the instructions didn't apply to my unit and weren't marked which took a while to figure out. The video link above was very helpful when I got stuck.

The unit is back in the pool, and running better than I can remember! Total time was close to 2 hours, but I was watching the Thunder/Heat game at the same time.
 
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