It appears to be leaking underneath right along the line where the seal plate attaches to the pump (where red arrow is pointing). I looked under and could see several water drops along the bottom of this area where the seal plate bolts up against the pump (where red arrow is pointing). I installed a brand new shaft seal when I rebuilt the pump. I kept the old seal plate gasket because it appeared to be in good shape and fit in the grooves. Do you guys think that maybe the seal plate gasket came out of the grooves when I tightened down those bolts? Wouldn't it be leaking more under the MOTOR if it were the shaft seal? I don't see any water under the motor area, just dripping along the seal plate bottom. Maybe I tightened the bolts down a little too much causing the gasket to shift (although I only went a 1/4 turn past hand tight)? You can actually see where the slab is wet underneath the pump/seal plate area. What should I do to attempt to fix this? At least the pump is running good now.
Help...trying to identify leak on newly installed rebuilt pump!
- Thread starter CajunGuy
- Start date
When you say "the seal itself" do you mean the seal plate gasket or the shaft seal (which is brand new)? What do you mean by the shaft causing it?
Shafts can cause an otherwise perfect brand new seal to leak if there is any pitting, rust or if it is even slightly out of round. Been there, done that. Pool place couldn't believe that when they bolted it down to their bench the dang shaft was actually wobbling when I was claiming it under warranty after having a good local motor shop replace the seal. Hope you get more responses.
So you're saying that you would think that it's the shaft seal instead of the seal plate gasket? When I had the motor apart, the shaft appeared to be in pretty good shape. The only thing I did was lightly sanded a bit of surface rust off with some fine grit sand paper. There was no wobble in the shaft and it spun freely.
Funny thing is (and this is why I think it may be the seal plate gasket instead) before I took the pump/motor apart, there was no leaking underneath the pump at all. It wouldn't turn on (would just hum), but that was because my seal plate grommet housing were crack causing the seal plate to shift and the impeller was rubbing and getting stuck on the seal plate face.
What is the next step here? Should I try to unbolt the 6 seal plate bolts and inspect the seal plate gasket and maybe try to set the gasket in the groove and tighten the bolts down again? Really would like to avoid taking the whole pump/motor apart again if I don't have to. If it's the seal plate gasket, I could just change/reinstall the gasket without undoing the motor or any electrical.
Funny thing is (and this is why I think it may be the seal plate gasket instead) before I took the pump/motor apart, there was no leaking underneath the pump at all. It wouldn't turn on (would just hum), but that was because my seal plate grommet housing were crack causing the seal plate to shift and the impeller was rubbing and getting stuck on the seal plate face.
What is the next step here? Should I try to unbolt the 6 seal plate bolts and inspect the seal plate gasket and maybe try to set the gasket in the groove and tighten the bolts down again? Really would like to avoid taking the whole pump/motor apart again if I don't have to. If it's the seal plate gasket, I could just change/reinstall the gasket without undoing the motor or any electrical.
I think there's your answer. "pretty good" just never seems to work well with shaft seals in my experience-they are pretty high tolerance in nature. They can leak even if your fingers touched the surface! Taking a shot at the gasket again won't hurt anything though if that's what you think.
I meant that the shaft itself was in good shape, the shaft seal is a BRAND NEW one (discarded the old one when I rebuilt the pump). I made 100% sure not to touch the face of either side when I installed them.
It seems as though there can only be two possible causes/places that the leak is coming from, either:
1) seal plate gasket
or
2) shaft seal (which is a brand new seal)
I guess I will buy a new gasket seal (since it's cheap) take the 6 bolts out, inspect everything for cracks, clean the groove out, then carefully put new gasket in place and re-install. If it is still leaking, then I guess my next step will be to try another shaft seal? If I replace the shaft seal and it still leaks then I'm at a wall and will most likely have to call a pool tech to the house. :grrrr:
Anybody else care to chime in?
1) seal plate gasket
or
2) shaft seal (which is a brand new seal)
I guess I will buy a new gasket seal (since it's cheap) take the 6 bolts out, inspect everything for cracks, clean the groove out, then carefully put new gasket in place and re-install. If it is still leaking, then I guess my next step will be to try another shaft seal? If I replace the shaft seal and it still leaks then I'm at a wall and will most likely have to call a pool tech to the house. :grrrr:
Anybody else care to chime in?