Sorry, I guess "pump is shot" is a bit vague. Basically, it's not
leaking, but when I turn it on, the motor spins but the water doesn't
go anywhere. When I turn it off, the motor takes 5 seconds or so to
spin down (no resistance), so I'm assuming that the impeller is not
impelling. I really didn't spend a lot of time assesing the damage,
I just considered the age of the pump and made the decision (not a
done deal yet) to replace the whole thing, particularly in light of
the fact that the strainer basket/priming tank assembly is on its
last legs, too (cracked ears on the top making a good seal very
difficult to obtain). A suitable replacement for the basket/tank
assembly alone is about 1/3 the price of a new pump/motor, which
includes a new tank/basket assembly! Add the price of
repairing/replacing the pump and we're getting awfully close to
replacing the whold d*mn thing. That's why I'm leaning heavily in
that direction.

I also take my pump indoors in the winter. I've never done any
maintenance on it and the motor is still as quiet as the day I bought
it, so I suspect that it's of high quality and has a few good years
left in it. I'm sure I'll find a good use for it.

In article ,
says...
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.