Hayward Super Pump Repair Guide
By Hayward is very well known in the swimming pool industry for the great quality swimming pool products they make. One of their most popular lines of swimming pool pumps is called the Hayward Super Pump. This pump is offered in both the Super Pump Standard and The Super Pump II. The Super pump is installed in millions of backyards all over the world and is well known for its long lasting life.
Even though the Hayward Super Pump is one of the top pumps in the industry, the daily use of this pump will eventually require troubleshooting and Hayward Super Pump repair. These repair are not that hard to do yourself if you are the hands on kind of repair person. If you are not comfortable working on with basic hand tools you could always bring the pump down to a local repair shop and have them diagnose and fix your pump. Things like the mechanical pump seal, pump bearings, pump gaskets and so on will have top be replaced along the way. Most of these things can be repaired in a few hours with replacement Hayward parts that are generally sold at your local swimming pool supply store.
Below you will find the most common things that will have to be repaired on the Hayward Super Pump swimming pool pump. Most of the repairs on this pump can be preformed with a 9/16″ inch socket or wrench, a Flathead screwdriver and a pair of channel lock pliers.
How To Change The Super Pump Seal
The Hayward Super pump uses a two part mechanical seal to protect the motor from the wet end of the pump. This seal can be replaced in a few small steps and will only take an hour or two if you have a set of wrenches and some other basic hand tools.
The first thing you will want to do is to disconnect the pump and drain it free of any water that may be in the volute. You can do this by removing the two drain plugs on the pump. One will be in the front of the pump and one will be on the side. Once the pump is drained out you will want to remove the four 9/6 bolts that connect the Hayward Pump housing to the motor bracket. Once you do this pump housing will separate from the motor end of the pump and you will now see the impeller. Grab hold of the impeller and turn it counter clockwise until it spins off of the pump motor shaft. You may have to hold the other end of the pump shaft with a pair of pliers. You can do this by removing the back motor cover. Now that the impeller is off of the motor shaft you will able to see both parts of the pump seal. Slide the pump seal spring off of the impeller and place it to the side. You will be replacing this with the new one in a few minutes. The second part of the Hayward mechanical pump seal is located in the pump seal housing. You will now need to take your finger and pull the ceramic seat from the seal housing. This ceramic seal seat will be wrapped with a black rubber washer, make sure you also remove that from the pump seal housing.
Now that you have both parts of the seal removed from the pump you can replace both parts of the seal with the replacement Hayward Super Pump seal. When re-inserting the ceramic seat you may want to put a small amount of silicon on the rubber casing to ensure that you will not have a leak. You can now screw the impeller back onto the pump shaft and re-attach the volute to the motor of the pump. Make sure you prime the Hayward Super Pump before you run it by filling the wet end of the pump with water before turning it on.
How To Prime The Hayward Super Pump:
The Hayward super pump is considered a self-priming swimming pool pump but this does not mean that the pump will actually prime itself if dry. When any type of swimming pool pump is dry you will have to fill the volute of the pump with water. This will allow the pump impeller to create a suction draw and start to pull the water from the swimming pool plumbing.
To prime the Hayward Super Pump you will just need a bucket of water or a garden hose. The first thing you will want to do is to remove the Super Pump Cover or also know as the pump basket cover. This lid will be made from clear plastic and will have two black handles knobs on each side. To remove the pump cover you will have to loosen each knob counter clockwise until the fold to the side. Once the knobs are loose you can remove the pump cover.
Now that the cover is off of the super pump volute also know as the wet end of the pump, you can take your bucket of water and pour it into the pump until the pump basket area is completely full of water. Now that the pump is full of water you can put the cover back onto the volute of the Hayward Super Pump. You swimming pool pump is now considered to be primed and you can now go ahead and turn on the pump. It may take a few minutes for the pump to fully be up to prime once it’s running.
How To Install The Hayward Super Pump
There are two fitting connections on the Hayward Super Pump housing. These inlets can be either 1.5″ inches or 2″ inches depending on the horsepower and size of your super pump. You will need to connect both side of the pump to your swimming pool system. On the front of the Hayward Super Pump is the suction side inlet. You will want to connect this side of the pump to the suction side of your swimming pool plumbing. The suction side of the swimming pool system is the side that has the main drain and skimmers hooked up to it. Some pools will not have a main drain, but every pool will have a skimmer or two. The suction side of the Hayward Super Pump will connect to the skimmer and the main drain.
On the top of the Hayward Super Pump is where you will find the discharge fitting connection. The discharge side of the super pump will get connected to the discharge side of your swimming pool system. The discharge side of the swimming pool system powers the swimming pool returns, pool vacuums and sometimes the pool slide or water fall if they are installed on the pool. Usually the discharge side of the Hayward Super Pump will get directly plumbed into the pump side of the multi-port directional valve and then the multi-port will connect to the discharge side of the pool plumbing. Once the both the suction side and the discharge side of the Hayward Pump are connected you can prime the pump and start it up making sure it reaches a full prime.
How To Drain The Hayward Super Pump
Draining the Super pump can be fast and easy to do. You will want to grab a 9/16″ box wrench or adjustable wrench and remove the two drain plugs that are on the bottom of the Hayward pump housing. You will find one drain plug on the from of the pump housing and one on the side. Once the water stops draining from the drain plugs holes your pump will now be drained.
How To Change The Hayward Pump Cover Gasket:
The pump cover gasket is easy and fast to change. This gasket often has to be replaced every few years because of all the opening and closing of the pump cover. The replacement of this gasket is part of the normal maintenance of the super pump. To install a new Hayward pump cover gasket you will need to remove the pump cover from the pump housing of the pump. You can do this by turning the two black hold down knobs counter clockwise until you can fold them to the side, so you can lift and remove the cover.
Once you have the cover off of the pump housing you can take a Flathead screwdriver and pry out the old pump cover gasket. Sometimes they melt or can be stuck, so you may have to do a bit of scraping if your gasket is really old. Most of the time the pump cover gasket will just pull right out. Once you have fully removed the old pump cover gasket you will want to insert the new gasket by firmly pressing the gasket into the groove on the pump housing. Once the gasket is set in place you can re-install the pump lid and re-start your pump, your cover gasket is now changed.
How To Change The Super Pump Motor Bearings:
If your super pump is “screaming” or making lots of noise chances are you will need to replace the motor shaft bearings that are inside of the motor. To do so you will have to remove the motor end from the pump housing. Once you have the motor removed from the pump housing you can remove the impeller and the pump seal housing. Now that the pump seal housing, the impeller and everything has been removed from the motor end you can start to take apart the motor.
You will need to remove the pump motor through bolts and then remove the front and the rear cover from the motor casing. Once the through bolts and the covers are removed you slide the motor armature shaft out from the casing. Once you removed the motor armature you will have to remove the old motor bearings and then press on new ones. Once your new bearings are pressed on to the motor armature shaft you can start to re-assemble the super pump in the reverse order that you took it apart. Take your time and put it back together the correct way. Do not forget to replace the water sling on the motor as well.
Super Pump Troubleshooting and Common Problems:
Problem: “My Hayward Super Pump Will Not Prime”
Solution: You will always want to make sure you have no air leaks in the suction side of the pump or the swimming pool plumbing. This can cause the pump not to prime. Make sure the unions and the pump cover are tight. Also make sure to fill the pump housing with water before starting the motor.
Problem: “I have air inside my pump cover and bubbles in my swimming pool.”
Solution: When you have air coming out of your swimming pool returns this means that your pump is sucking air from somewhere. Check your suction fitting and drain plugs to make sure they are tight and not leaking. You also will want to make sure you pump housing cover lid is good as well.
If You Have Any More Questions Or Problems Please Ask:
Hi,
I have the same problem as Benny. I pulled the motor from the pump housing and can spin the it both ways. When I hit the power it just buzzes. This set up is about 10 years old. It was running fine yesterday with no abnormal noises. This is all I need since I am getting ready for my daughters grad party next saturday! With everything else I need to do the pool wasn’t on the list to fix!! Should I just go get a new motor and be done?
Thank you in advance for any help
Rick
I have a hayward super pump dual speed SP2610X152S. It was making loud grinding noise and felt extremely hot then stopped working. Do I need to replace the entire pump? Any suggestions for repair?
Hi Dave,
it sounds like the motor bearings need to be replaced,
Joseph
Hi,
My pump is just hummilng and not pumping any water through the system. What can cause this, and how to fix it.
Lou
REPLY THANKS
Lou,
Either the starting capacitor is no good, the pump impeller is jammed or the ball bearings need to be replaced. To check is the impeller is jammed, disconnect the motor from the pump by removing the four 9/16″ bolts. Pull off the diffuser plate and see if you can turn the impeller easily by hand. If you can, replace the capacitor. If you can’t the and you don’t find anything stopping the impeller from turning, replace the ball bearings.
Rick
Hello,
My pump is set up on a timer, when the pump turns on it just buzzes and times out, then tries again. I felt the motor and it’s getting pretty hot(with out running). Eventually it starts and pumps. Your thoughts?
Greg
Hi Greg,
From what you are describing it sounds like the capacitor has gone bad, you will need to replace that.
The new capacitor is around $14.99 and can be replaced in less then an hour if you are handy,
That is if you have a Hayward Super pump,
Let me know if you have any more questions, or need additional help.
Joseph
Joseph,
I think my motor has that problem, it has occassional come on it’s own and it has a problem with tripping the breaker every time I turn it on for the first minute.
Where does one get this capacitor, do you have any pictures of what capacitor I should replace?
Thanks,
Harvey
Just to add to this reply, be sure to unplug the pump before changing the capacitor. If you don’t, the pump may start if the timer activates the circuit and you could catch your fingers in the centrifugal switch. Also, even if you turn the switch off to the pump and don’t unplug it, almost always the ground fault breaker will trip off while changing the capacitor.
Rick
I have an air leak or something. On the deep drain port the pump fills fine. On the full skimmer port the pump basket/reservoir will not fill completely with water yet there is water flow, but not enough. Water is well over the skimmer basket (ie the pool level is high enough). I disassembled the Port I/Port II valve assembly and that is fine. What else can I do?
Mark
Hi Mark,
You may have have a broken skimmer line, a weir that is not opening properly or my be is a clogged skmmer line. If you still have the problem with this you can contact me and I can explain how to unclog the line. To avoid clogs, always use a Skim-Vac placed inside the skimmer and over the skimmer basket when vacuuming your pool.
My Hayward II pupmp is about 8 years old. I just noted it did not come on ( set on an interval timer).
When I set my system to turn it on ( manual over ride at the pump), all it does is click. No sound, no nothing.
Breaker ok etc. Where do I start? Do my pool maint myself; ideally c an do this myself.
Thx for anyone who is able to reply.
Bart
He Bart,
I would start by taking the end cover of the motor off and check the cord wires going into the pump. Make sure they are not burned off, broken or separated from the contact points of the pump. If everything looks good, use a volt meter and check for the proper voltage the those two leads.
Rick
hayward pump 5 years old, whas running on high, it stoped. now only runs in low
Hi Ed,
This sounds like a two-speed pump. The two speed pumps run on 230 volts. (it would have two hot wires attached to the motor) Using a voltmeter, check to make sure you have between 115 and 120 volts on each of the two power leads if you put your probes of your voltmeter between the hot wires and ground. You should also have between 220 and 240 volts between the two hot leads.
We just had our old pump replaced with the Hayward Super Pump. The old one was quiet and this Hayward Super Pump is very loud that you can hear it in the house. Is this normal???
Hi Hanya,
I have taken brand new pumps out of the box that had bad bearings or had the steel slinger that was rubbing on the shaft. Hayward Superpumps are pretty quiet especially the new 2speed pumps when run on low speed. At a distance of about 10 feet, you probably wouldn’t hear it running.
If you can hear the new pump running at a distance of about 50 feet from the pump, return it and get a replacement.
I have a hayward super pump approximately 12 years old. When turning on it automatically throws the breaker in the house. I replaced the receptacle and plug end with new pieces and still have the same problem. Breaker will only blow when pump is turned on. Is this a capacitor problem? Or does the pump motor need to be replaced? How can I test the motor with dvom? Thanks
Keith
Hi Keith,
If the pump shaft turns easily, change the capactor.(A 12 year old pump will have points similar to the older cars that need to be touching together for the motor to start properly.) After the starting capacitor gets the pump spinning fast enough, the point will open and take the starting capacitor out of the circuit so make sure the points are contacting each other when the pump is turned off. If the capacitor doesn’t do the trick, the pump may have gotten wet inside and needs to be dried out before it will run properly. Sometimes if the motor got wet, I will bring it in on my work bench and run it on an outlet that is not GFI protected for about 5 minutes. That is usually enough to dry it out.
I have the same problem as Keith. My superpump is only 2-3 years old, but this year i have had recurring shorting at the breaker and sometimes at the plug. I have troubleshot enough to know that the pump is the culprit and not the other pool equipment on the dedicated line. First years no problems. Just today however, I went to turn on the pump and the breaker tripped after 3 secs. When observing outside as i plug it in, it comes on and makes a loud humming noise but doesn’t move any water at all (nothing else seems to happen). I notice too, that the plug itself has braizing (sp?) on the tips of the plug prongs – sometimes there is a small arc as i plug it in. the cord itself is in good condition and an electrician has been by to test the line itself and finds no shorts. Any ideas? To me, this is definitely pump-related.
Thanks for your time.
Drew
Hello Drew and many others on this forum. When a superpump motor just hums when it is turned on and then kicks the breaker off, it is almost always the pump impeller is jammed, or the capacitor is bad. Bad bearings could jam the motor or debris can be lodged in between the the impeller and the diffuser. If you can turn the motor shaft easily, then it is almost always the capacitor. The capacitor can be changed in less than 5 minutes. Before removing the capacitor, unplug the pump or the GFI breaker will trip off even if the pump switch is turn off.
Hi, Please let me know if you can help me with my problem? I have a brand new Hayward super pump 1 hp that I am using to replace a 3/4 hp 29 yr old pump.
When I turn on the pump it primes until the skimmer basket in the pump is almost full then it starts to stop and start every 2-3 sec and will not stop or fill up. I installed myself, everything looks right (gfi plug used) and my old wiring was L1 white L2 black. Please let meknow if there is something you know about what I have done. Thanks, Adrian.
Hi Adrian,
The Superpumps come factory wired for 230 volts. Sounds like you have it wired for 115 volts but didn’t change the factory connector to the 115v setting. If you look inside the motor end cap, you will either have a black connector with two wire going to it that you can pull off the spade terminals and move it so the arrows line up to the correct voltage …or you may have a black switch that looks something like a 1/2 inch nut that needs to be turned to the 115 volt setting if that is what your pump is wired for.
Rick
Hi I am having a problem withmy super pump it will run about 1-1.5 hour then it will trip the breaker.
My Hayward works for the jacuzzi however when I switch the valves for the pool skimmer or vacuum it stops working.
I’d be looking for an air leak on the suction pipes going to the pool, probably the skimmer line.
Rick
Hi Jim,
I’m looking back through these posts and I thought of another possible cause for this problem. In some states an SVRS (suction vacuum release system) is required to be installed on any pool with a main drain or a side suction fitting. The idea behind the SVRS is that if one of the suction ports is blocked as if someone was stuck over the drain or side port, the suction increases on that line and the SVRS will shut the pump down automatically. If that is the case, the SVRS has to be replumbed if it is turning the pump off, for example, when you are trying to vacuum the pool. This should only be done by a qualified professional that understands how the system works.
Rick
HI, I am having a problem with my seal leaking. I had repleaced my pump motor about 6 weeks ago and started leaking and got into motor. It was still undre warranty so I rplaced again and replaced all gaskets and seal, also replaced the motor mount bracket and the seal housing. I also replaced the seal again to make sure it was good. This lasted about 3 days and its leaking again. The pool is only 4 years old. I am looking for alittle help on what could be the problem. I have the hayward superpump.
thanks in advance.
Joe Mihalchick
If your pump runs dry for even a couple of minutes, the pump seal can be ruined. Also, if you have a lot of sand going through the pump, the sand will ruin the seal surface quickly. This is very common after a concrete patio is poured around a pool and some of the concrete material drops into the pool.
Rick