please describe "pump is shot". usually what goes bad when there is no water
is the pump seal. It depends on water as a lubricant and cooler. Without
water they overheat and start leaking. Replacing a seal is easy and cheap
enough to do that I mght give it a try before replacing the whole pump.
Rebuild kits are available with all the needed seals. Or you can take it
into the pool store and have them do a complete recondition on the unit.
Still cheaper than a new pump.

My Hayward pump is going on 14 years. I rebuilt the seal after 7 when the
same thing happened to me. I take my pump indoors every winter.

As far as the motor goes, two things usually fail on them: the bearings and
the centrifical switch for the start up capacitor. I replaced the bearings
on my spare pump when the little water shedding disk (on the shaft just
infront of the bearing) disintegrated allowing water to get to the bearing.

"Travis Jordan" wrote in message
...
Mike Hartigan wrote:
One of the hoses on my filter failed last night and this morning I
found the water level just below the skimmer. I brought the water
level back where it belongs, crossed my fingers, and turned on the
pump. Motor runs fine, but, not unexpectedly, the pump is shot. I
considered replacing or repairing just the pump but I figured that
this unit is seven years old and the motor will likely need replacing
soon anyway, so why not just replace the motor/pump? They're more
widely available in that configuration anyway, and it'll be cheaper
than replacing them individually a year or so apart.

Two questions:

1. After seven years, does it make sense to replace them both now, or
is this overkill?

As long as you're in there doing the work, I would replace them as an
assembly.

But first, make sure that it isn't just a matter of the pump losing
prime.

Can't help you with the brands...don't know the Doughboy. I've had
excellent service (10 years) from Sta-Rite.