I've had a leak from this pump since I purchased my house and have not been able to determine the cause. Had two different pool repair companies come out under my home warranty (replaced seal once and housing o-ring once) and leak would stop for a bit but then start up again (leaking water where the band clamp connects the volute to the front housing).
Eventually I had a squealing motor and decided I was going to tackle this repair myself to fix it for good. Squealing was from the motor and bearing replacement was needed. Upon taking the pump and motor apart, there was significant wear on the diffuser and impeller where they meet each other. All parts replaced on this job were: seal, impeller, diffuser, two motor bearings, o-rings for diffuser and front housing.
Put it all back together and still having a leak at the band clamp. Bought another o-ring, and replaced and still leaking. Took the whole thing apart again and checked housing and volute for cracks - no problems seen on those parts. Bought new band clamp - still leaking.
At my wits end when I found this post :
Guess what? that's my problem!! exactly! the o-rings I bought were both round and not square and they don't form a proper seal at the band clamp. So, returning the new band clamp, and seeking refund for the wrong o-rings. Feeling real good about this rebuild because the motor and pump are just humming along beautifully.
The correct o-ring is Pentair #355329 front housing o-ring! make sure it looks square not round if you get it in a GoKit, but I recommend just getting the individual o-rings that you need INSTEAD of a GoKit as I only needed the front housing o-ring and the diffuser o-ring.
posting this for anyone else who just couldn't figure out why, after replacing multiple parts, there was still leaking around that band clamp.
UPDATE: I'm attaching pictures of the correct o-ring. Here is a link to my video explanation of this post where I show the incorrect o-ring :
Good luck and happy pool maintenance
Eventually I had a squealing motor and decided I was going to tackle this repair myself to fix it for good. Squealing was from the motor and bearing replacement was needed. Upon taking the pump and motor apart, there was significant wear on the diffuser and impeller where they meet each other. All parts replaced on this job were: seal, impeller, diffuser, two motor bearings, o-rings for diffuser and front housing.
Put it all back together and still having a leak at the band clamp. Bought another o-ring, and replaced and still leaking. Took the whole thing apart again and checked housing and volute for cracks - no problems seen on those parts. Bought new band clamp - still leaking.
At my wits end when I found this post :
OK, here is the answer to this problem. There is nothing wrong with the volute, nor the SS clamp band. The online source that I purchased the seal kit from provided the volute seal, indicating that it was a replacement part for Pentair Challenger pumps, BUT IT IS NOT!!! As I previously alluded to, the previous gasket had a SQUARE CROSS SECTION, NOT A ROUND ONE. The new replacement was a ROUND CROSS SECTION, which I assumed would form fit to the square groove in the volute. WRONG! You all probably knew that, but I did not...
My reason for posting my results here to to spare some other person the hassle of buying something that doesn't work, then the insult of being ignored when a problem that the company has created has no resolution.
My advice:
AVOID CHEAP ONLINE SOURCES THAT ADVERTISE A GENERIC, "UNIVERSAL" FIT FOR YOUR EQUIPMENT AND GO INSTEAD TO YOUR MANUFACTURER. THE PRICE MAY BE HIGHER, BUT THE PART WILL WORK AND YOU DONT HAVE TO SPEND A MONTH OR SO LOOKING LIKE A IDIOT WONDERING WHY THE PROBLEM YOU ALREADY "FIXED" STILL NEEDS FIXING!!!
Guess what? that's my problem!! exactly! the o-rings I bought were both round and not square and they don't form a proper seal at the band clamp. So, returning the new band clamp, and seeking refund for the wrong o-rings. Feeling real good about this rebuild because the motor and pump are just humming along beautifully.
The correct o-ring is Pentair #355329 front housing o-ring! make sure it looks square not round if you get it in a GoKit, but I recommend just getting the individual o-rings that you need INSTEAD of a GoKit as I only needed the front housing o-ring and the diffuser o-ring.
posting this for anyone else who just couldn't figure out why, after replacing multiple parts, there was still leaking around that band clamp.
UPDATE: I'm attaching pictures of the correct o-ring. Here is a link to my video explanation of this post where I show the incorrect o-ring :
Good luck and happy pool maintenance
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