Anybody familiar with "jet pumps"?

Gang, Neighbor has a Wayne Model SWS50 1/2HP jet pump which quit pumping. It is used for cistern water. She has city water also, so no panic, but I wanted to help out. Checked the pump and motor is running fine but the inside of the pump is "growling" quite a bit and I am assuming the impeller, etc., is shot. Pulled the pump and now have it in my garage. Picture and parts list can be seen at:

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problem is: I have removed the 4 bolts which "should" hold the motor and impeller stuff inside the casting for the pump, but I cannot get the motor and impeller to come out of the housing of the pump. I admit, it's pretty gunked up in there and maybe the crud is just keeping it from being removed, but I've been wiggling, prying, etc., and don't seem to be making any progress. Haven't tried tapping/beating/smashing anything as of yet and hope I don't have to. There is no access to any internal parts through the water inlet or outlets or anywhere else, just the four bolts that hold it together. Anyone with experience that could help, suggest??? The four bolts are item #2 on the drawing and item #3 is called a seal plate. It may be the seal plate which is "frozen" into place but the motor won't pull back far enough to allow me to do much of anything in the end of the housing. The nozzle (#11) in the print may stick into the housing far enough that a rod inserted through a 1/4" pipe plug hole at #14 may allow me to tap it back out of the housing, but I probably would ruin the nozzle in the process. Ideas would be appreciated.... Ken.

Reply to
Ken Sterling
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Are you sure the pump just didn't lose it's prime and is running dry?

Reply to
Nick Hull

Sounds like the pump bowl is pretty well jammed with sediment. The cover is normally a pretty close fit slipping over the impeller. Built up encrustation can make it difficult to take apart. I'd recommend a new impeller and seal kit. You can dissolve a lot of the crud by dipping the pump end [not the motor] in a solution of 10% hydrochloric acid after loosening the cover so the acid can get inside. Good luck, Bugs

Reply to
Bugs

Part #3 is your problem with getting it apart. The seal plate is to keep water away from the motor, so it has to be water tight. To achieve this it is press fit onto the shaft and uses a sealed bearing. So to get them apart try to put the screws back in about 3 or 4 turns and tap them making sure to cross the motor with each strike. How hard you have to hit depends on how much crap is in there and what the seal plate is pressfit to(it's in tons usually). So I'm sorry to tell you you're going to have to beat it out. But you should also open up all those plugs in there to make sure some air cna get in there and make the job easier.

Reply to
Xenophon

Yup - seal plate was hanging me up. Finally got it all apart - pieces look fine but everything really needed a good cleaning. I replaced the noisy bearing on the pump end of the motor shaft as it was "rough" and I had it apart anyway. Thanks for the responses. I now have it all cleaned up, and reassembled and probably will be re-installing it over the weekend. 'Preciate the help. Ken.

Reply to
Ken Sterling

Glad to see my frustration of having to to do an electricians job helped somebody. Had a critical system pump cavitating like you wouldn't believe, we had no electricians around so I had to learn how to disasseble and rebuild a pump in an afternoon. I work on electronics. Motor controllers=yes; motors=okay; pumps=someone elses fricking job. Of course one of the electricians came around the next day just after I had put it back together (litterally set down torque wrench)and laughed at how long it took me to do it boasting he could have done it in a hour. He got a fat lip. Only because one of my guys took the torque wrench off the table.

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Reply to
Xenophon

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