Waterfall pump whines but doesn't pump!!

[Bill in SoCal]

I have a waterfall feature on my pool that has it's own pump. We have not turned on the waterfall in a few months (at least). Went to turn it on the other day and all it does is "whine" and not actually pump. Definitely getting power. Opened it up and the basket was clean of debris. The water in the basket was green with algae (like I said, hadn't been used in a few months......). Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot it? Here is the details on the pump & motor as best as I can determine, since all the pool equipment was installed when I bought the home:

On the pump housing:
Pentair WhisperFlo
Model # WFE-4, 1 HP

"Upper" Label on the Motor housing:
Model WFE-28 C, 2.0 HP
Service Factor 1.10

"Lower" Label on the Motor housing:
M Centurion for PAC-FAB
Part 8-168787-07
FR Y56Y
Type CX
Form KJM

Not sure what everything means and really not sure how old the various pieces of equipment are. The pump worked fine last time we used it. Since it is for the waterfall, which we only use infrequently, I really don't want to have to replace the motor or pump. I would much rather repair or rebuild if necessary. I've never rebuilt one of these things, but have researched it a bit and feel confident I could do it if I had to. Any help on what course to take would be appreciated.

 

[JasonLion]

With the power off, check to see if the shaft turns freely. If it is tight, moving it around manually and then trying power again might get the pump running again, at least for now.

Noise like that is usually the bearings failing. That is a reasonable DIY project, though you might need to buy a bearing puller. The trickier question is why the bearings are failing. One way or another they are getting wet. That might be the shaft seal, which is easy to fix, or it could be something less obvious and thus trickier to fix.

 

[Bill in SoCal]

This may be a dumb question, but how do I manually turn the shaft? Do I have to take the motor housing off to do it? Thanks.

 

[JasonLion]

It varies, sometimes you can reach in between the motor and the pump, other times you need to remove the end cap of the motor opposite the pump.

 

[Bill in SoCal]

Thanks Jason!! I popped the end cap off and used a 1/2" open end wrench (tapping it with a hammer) to get the shaft spinning again. Seems to be working fine now. Another thumbs up to TFP!!!!