Help - Remove Wet End Of Wavemaster 7000

[Davidpsalt]

I am looking for help in understanding how to remove the wet end of my Wavemaster 7000 Jet pump in my 1999 Sovereign.

I have removed the pump from the spa, taken off the pump casing via 8 SS screws to expose the impeller. The impeller does not spin freely - binds quite a bit at one spot on the rotation hence I believe it fell victim to freeze damage from previous owner. I have also removed the air shroud on the other end of the pump to expose the end of the shaft that has a slot for a big screw driver. I am guessing that if I can hold the shaft in place the impeller either spins off in a clockwise or counter clockwise rotation. Is this correct? Please advise.

Looking at the cost of parts, etc. I am leaning towards buying the complete wet end of the pump reinstalling since I am guessing the casing is cracked with a leak, needs new seals/bearings, etc. and at $87 on backyardplus.com it appears to make sense. Thoughts?

While I have the pump motor out should I take it to a shop to check the overall condition - i.e. bearings & shaft? Any recommendations for a shop in the Atlanta area?

Thanks,

Dave

[Dan.The.Spa.Man]

I am looking for help in understanding how to remove the wet end of my Wavemaster 7000 Jet pump in my 1999 Sovereign.

I have removed the pump from the spa, taken off the pump casing via 8 SS screws to expose the impeller. The impeller does not spin freely - binds quite a bit at one spot on the rotation hence I believe it fell victim to freeze damage from previous owner. I have also removed the air shroud on the other end of the pump to expose the end of the shaft that has a slot for a big screw driver. I am guessing that if I can hold the shaft in place the impeller either spins off in a clockwise or counter clockwise rotation. Is this correct? Please advise.

Looking at the cost of parts, etc. I am leaning towards buying the complete wet end of the pump reinstalling since I am guessing the casing is cracked with a leak, needs new seals/bearings, etc. and at $87 on backyardplus.com it appears to make sense. Thoughts?

While I have the pump motor out should I take it to a shop to check the overall condition - i.e. bearings & shaft? Any recommendations for a shop in the Atlanta area?

Thanks,

Dave

Hypothetically the impeller will unthread counterclockwise. If the seal assembly had been leaking for a while it may be hard to get off though. I usually put a pair of vise-grips on the shaft and they will lock in against one of the legs of the wet end when you try to unthread the impeller. The screwdriver slot is hard to keep ahold of if the impeller is really locked on tight. I am able to get them off about 1/2 of the time like that, the other 1/2 of the time you have to break it off.

The key is to make sure the shaft is not corroded too badly once the impeller is off. Once it is all apart you can run the pump off of a regular cord and use some sandpaper cloth to smooth out the shaft while it is running.

[Davidpsalt]

Thanks Dan - I had to break the impeller off then work on the metal sleeve nut to get it off the shaft. All is good now. I also to the motor apart and removed the wet side bearing a pressed a new one on.

Regarding corrosion on the shaft near the wet side - if a significant amount of the surface of the shaft has corroded will this impact its ability to seal once I put a new wet end back on?

If you have a chance - let's circle around on our discussion on parts and availability.

Dave