Leak from around drain plug on impeller housing of pump

[steheap]

I noticed a leak from the drain plug in the impeller housing of my main pump and tightening the plug didn't help so I bought a new one, applied silicone grease, but I still have the leak. I'm now pretty sure that it is coming from the housing into which the plug is being screwed because if I screw the plug in tighter, I get a strong flow of water from the plug area, if I back off the tightness, there is a spot where I just get a steady drip. I've tried wrapping PTFE tape on the threads, but that didn't seem to make much difference.

The three photos are the general area around the pump, a close up of the plug with a drip and a close up of the stream of water when I tighten the plug further (by hand).

Are there any compounds I could spread around that area and arrest the leak? Any other ideas?

Steve

 

[Richard320]

Study that plug and the threaded area closely. If it's tapered pipe threads, the tighter you go, the wider the plug, and it spreads a crack in the housing. So look for tapered threads and hairline cracks. If the thread appears to be straight, you're missing a rubber gasket.

A crack might seal up if you let everything dry out and pile some 5 minute epoxy around the area.

 

[steheap]

Study that plug and the threaded area closely. If it's tapered pipe threads, the tighter you go, the wider the plug, and it spreads a crack in the housing. So look for tapered threads and hairline cracks. If the thread appears to be straight, you're missing a rubber gasket.

A crack might seal up if you let everything dry out and pile some 5 minute epoxy around the area.

The new plug has a rubber o-ring and I put the grease on that - I suspected that the tighter I turned the thread the more I opened the crack.

Would 5 minute epoxy be spread around the outside - I'm assuming so, it would clog the threads! Do I have to do any special preparation apart from getting it clean and dry?

STeve

 

[Richard320]

The new plug has a rubber o-ring and I put the grease on that - I suspected that the tighter I turned the thread the more I opened the crack.

Would 5 minute epoxy be spread around the outside - I'm assuming so, it would clog the threads! Do I have to do any special preparation apart from getting it clean and dry?

STeve

That's about it. It might not work, but I'd take the gamble. A couple bucks' worth of glue versus a couple hundred for a housing - no hesitation at all.

 

[ps0303]

If that is the pump I think it is, the front housing is hard to find. I had one sitting in my garage for a long time and finally tossed it. I recall buying it for a guys pump only to just replace the entire pump due to other issues. This why I stopped working on pumps. Many times you take the older ones apart and things are warped and you can't get them to stop leaking when you put them back together.

Try the AB Epoxy or similar. I guess you could try some JB Weld as well.

 

[steheap]

I plan to try this on Monday (we have thunderstorms over the next 2 days and I want to get it really dry.

I am going back and forwards between two options when it is dry - one is to screw the plug in tightly, which will open the crack a bit, and so the epoxy will have a chance of going into the crack. Once the epoxy is in place, I remove the plug. The other option is to spread the epoxy over the area with no pressure on the housing at all so it forms a shield over the area.

Any thoughts?

Steve