Pump motor mount bolt flange cracked? (picture)

[pool123455]

New to pool maintenance and working through all the pieces of the system. I have a Pentair WhisperFlo WFE-3 pump with an A.O. Smith QC1102 motor. Noticed the housing gasket has a small leak at system power-on, so am planning to replace that seal and check the other components as well as motor bearings.

In preparing for removing the motor from the mounting plate, I discovered that both of the lower motor mount flange corners (where the bolts hold the motor to the plate) are half-missing (the dark grey in the image). It seems to be holding fine right now, but I'm wondering about re-securing it once removed. What options do I have?

 

[ajw22]

@Jimrahbe @JamesW thoughts?

 

[Jimrahbe]

55,

I would use this as an opportunity to buy a new IntelliFlo VS pump and save on the old electrical bill..

I'm sure James will provide some real advice, but if this were my pump, I would proably add a larger washer under each bolt and use it as is..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

I suspect that you're going to have other problems taking this apart.

Probably going to need a seal plate and impeller.

I would replace it with a intelliflo.

What are your electricity rates?

 

[pool123455]

Thanks for the replies so far. Electric rates are about $0.173/kWh in Los Angeles area. I have solar so my worst months (winter) are still less than 250 kWh/month net usage, while spring/summer gets as low as 50 kWh/month net.

I'm not sure if a $1k+ new pump is the preferred option right now.

 

[JamesW]

How old is the pump?

How loud is it?

I think that replacing it is probably going to be the best choice.

I think that it will be obvious in retrospect if you decide to go the rebuild route.

Maybe get a Superflo VS.

 

[pool123455]

I suspect that you're going to have other problems taking this apart.

You predicted well. Having a good feeling for "normal" motor health from this forum, I abandoned thoughts of repairing at this stage .