Booster pump diagnostic questions

[mcpickle]

(MOVED TO START OWN THREAD.)

My Polaris PB4 Booster pump, is little over 10 yrs old, and is working but making a cat in a blender sound. I'm guessing its the bearings. I've stopped using it. (using the old vacum method to keep the pool clean) Is it worth taking this old motor in for refurb, or should I just buy a new one? I'm also concerned that if I take the booster pump off for several days while I repair or replace it, if there will be water coming from the pipes formerly connected to the booster, while the pool filter is on?
If so, I better call a professional. This will be my first pool pump repair/replacement I'm sure I'll need SEVERAL days to get this project accomplished.

 

[ShockerLU3]

Take a deep breath, what you are talking about doing is not that difficult for the moderately handy and some good hand tools. The first place to start though is with a few preliminary checks to determine if the pump motor is indeed the problem. Make sure you clean all of the skimmer and intake baskets out. The next step is to check the impeller for any random Crud that may have gotten by those baskets and gotten in the impeller housing. Seemingly small things in the housing can make rather large noises. It looks like you'll have to disassemble the front of the pump to do that. To stop water flow, in the event there are no valves for the purpose, you can get expandable plugs for hardlines like PVC and hose clamps with capped off tubing for soft lines.

 

[mcpickle]

Thanks for the encouragement. The project starts tomorrow.
Here is what I'm dealing with.
http://imageshack.us/f/818/img0687nb.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/9/img0686tb.jpg/

I plan to buy one of those large PVC wrenches, hopefully I can turn the white hexagon like pieces.
If they open, I'll run to the hardware store and buy some screw in PVC plugs.
If I get this far, then I'll have time to diagnose.
If it ends up being the motor, being that it's old, do I repair or replace?
I think I found a place in town that can refurb it for $100 or less.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I can't tell from your pictures but there should be a valve to turn the suction to the booster off. If there isn't then you can't run your main pump while you have the booster out.

You're not going to be able to "turn" the PVC fittings with the hex collars. They're glued in place. What I would do is remove the bolts from around the casing (there are 6 of them) and leave the casing in place. That way you won't have to redo any plumbing.

 

[mcpickle]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/585/img0690l.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/829/img0691lh.jpg/

Good thing I posted this or I would be doing PVC plumbing work. No I don't have a valve. Wish I did. NOthing was blocking the impeller, and the motor made the same noise after removing it. I put the impeller housing back on, that seems to keep the water from gushing out, although I now have a slow drip. I've bought myself some time to get this done. You guys didn't tell me how tough those bolts would be!, What a pain in the @$$! This is a doable project but requires serious elbow grease. Now I see I have two black wires and a green (ground), when I buy my new motor does it matter which black wire goes where? I'm guessing not, otherwise they would have given a black a white and a green. I'll look into refurbing the motor, but if it's over $100 I think it's better spent on a new motor. I saw a few videos on YouTube about replacing the gasket, washer and other components in the impeller area, so I might as well do that too.

 

[Bama Rambler]

It doesn't matter which black wire goes on L1 or L2.

At $100 for repair, you're right about spending the money on a new motor.