Pool pump housing leaking... suggestions?

[Theflash95]

I've got a small leak in two places on my pool housing. The pump seems to be sucking a lot of air from the inlet side of the housing (but not enough where it won't run)... I see lots of bubbles coming out of the return jet that is closest to the pool equipment. Also, when I shut the pump off a small amount of water dribbles out of the inlet side (so I know it's definitely leaking there). When the pump is running there is a very slow dribble coming out the output side of the housing (that runs to the filter) too. I have attached a photo with arrows showing the spots I'm talking about... you can see I used some duct tape just temporarily to see if covering up those spots removed the air bubbles (it did).

If you look in the photo you'll see that there isn't much pipe to cut this out and re-plumb, so I'm wondering how to fix this without having to go crazy re-doing everything. I'm pretty handy, but if this turns into a big replacement I'll probably just have to call in the professionals. Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated... is this fixable with epoxy or something like that?

 

[1poolman1]

You can seal the input side with silicone RTV sealant. It is a fairly permanent repair on the suction side. Use just enough to make a tight bond between the pipe nipple and the pump itself. Look up the description/diagram of a fillet weld to get the idea (unless you are welder, then you know).
The output will have to be removed, Teflon taped, and re-installed. You may need to cut that plumbing and put in a new threaded fitting. A high-temp pump union would be best. Do not use any kind of epoxy. You can't put a band-aid on a pressure leak and even epoxy is just a band-aid. It will fail and then be even more difficult to repair.

 

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[Theflash95]

You can seal the input side with silicone RTV sealant. It is a fairly permanent repair on the suction side. Use just enough to make a tight bond between the pipe nipple and the pump itself. Look up the description/diagram of a fillet weld to get the idea (unless you are welder, then you know).
The output will have to be removed, Teflon taped, and re-installed. You may need to cut that plumbing and put in a new threaded fitting. A high-temp pump union would be best. Do not use any kind of epoxy. You can't put a band-aid on a pressure leak and even epoxy is just a band-aid. It will fail and then be even more difficult to repair.

Thanks! I'll try the RTV on the input side. The leak on the output side is barely a dribble, but I'm sure it will get worse if I don't fix it. At least the output side can easily be redone... if I had to start cutting pipe on the input side it would be a pain as all those couplings are butted up against one another.

 

[robwas]

If the pump got hot the fittings have shrunk. You may get away with silicone or more tape on the suction but for the outlet on top I would seriously consider replacing the fitting and installing a union, preferably one that can endure higher temperatures. The beauty of a union is if it leaks again you can just take out and reseal or replace the part that goes into the pump.

 

[1poolman1]

If you are going to replace the fittings, try to use a hi-temp union or a CPVC nipple or adapter, especially on the output. It looks like you may have a spa. Normal PVC is good, for pool purposes, to about 90 degrees F before it wants to soften and start to shrink. You heat a spa to around 100, so using regular PVC fittings only makes sense to the one who did the install because they are cheap. CPVC fittings and pipe are good for about 140 degrees and on an installation the age of yours should have been used.
Even at today's very inflated prices where those regular PVC fittings are selling for about $2.00 each a 2" CPVC adapter is about $15.00. Two-inch CPVC nipples are about $4.00 an inch. Big savings to the installer, big headache to the pool owner.