Bearing replacement SP3400VSP PUMP / SPX3400Z1ECM motor

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00DEREK

Member
Aug 16, 2020
20
Phoenix AZ
Pool Size
25000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Turbo Cell (T-CELL-5)
HAYWARD ECOSTAR SP3400VSP PUMP with SPX3400Z1ECM motor. Came with the house so 3-5 years old.

Pump is pumping OK; -10 to -15 inches vacuum at the inlet. It's the motor I'm concerned about. Making a high-pitch ringing/whining sound - previous pool pumps I've owned needed bearings replaced.

I'm draining/filling the pool this week so I took the whole pump to my trusted motor repair shop. They took one look at it and said they can't work on Hayward VSP because they don't have the test equipment. I went on Hayward.com to look for a Hayward authorized shop and drove there. They said they don't recommend replacing bearings because they can't guarantee reassembly. They advised replacing the motor, but wait until it dies.

Called my second choice pool shop - new bearings and seals done for $160 but will take 7-10 days. I can't leave the pump off for that long, it's still too warm in AZ to not be circulating/filtering.

I don't think the motor is close to dying, but you never know. Based on what I know now I will probably get the bearings replaced later in the year when it's colder. I was also thinking of buying a new motor ($600) and getting the noisy one fixed to have on standby ( total $760).

But what is your advice/experience on this motor?
Will it go back together properly?

Thoughts?

Thanks
 
That's about the right price on replacing bearings. I'm not sure I would wait for the motor to die, but I would wait until it gets loud enough for the neighbors to start complaining. Then have it rebuilt. I asume they will do a continuity test if it does die out on you bear replacing the bearings.
 
ferretbone said:
That's about the right price on replacing bearings. I'm not sure I would wait for the motor to die, but I would wait until it gets loud enough for the neighbors to start complaining. Then have it rebuilt. I asume they will do a continuity test if it does die out on you bear replacing the bearings.
Click to expand...
Thanks. So in your experience there is nothing exotic about motors for VSP pumps, and bearing replacement is straightforward? The tech in a Hayward Authorized shop said something about magnets not going back together properly; it's starting to feel like he was upselling me a new motor....
 
Yes, I've replaced my drive once already. Did Hayward address the bad IC problem (Module IR IRAMX16UP60B-2) , or is every drive failing for the same thing?
 
I asked Hayward tech support if the motor bearings can be replaced and they responded "no"...

"Hello, the motor we use on this pump is purchased from a 3rd party company and the bearings for this motor are not available as a spare part. The motor would need to be replaced.
This is an email regarding Case # 00204060"

So now I'm wondering what I should do. This motor is only about 5 or 6 years old. My last pool motor was 11 years old when I moved house and it was running fine with one bearing replacement and one start capacitor over that time. As others have suggested don't put any more money into an Ecostar pump? Some local shops have said they can do bearings, but I'm wondering what they use. I don't mind paying $200 for aftermarket parts if it's going to give me at least a couple of years of noise free service.

But I'm also quite willing to dump this pump altogether if someone here can suggest what to replace it with that will relieve me from this hassle - the last few months have made me question why I own a pool, it's been more work than I want to do.

Thank you in advance!
 

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