Ok, I tore my old pump apart looking for the failure and to gain more understanding of the mechanics of my pump. I cannot figure out why it failed. I had already replaced all the valves with new ones from GP. So looking at this I only see two issues - one is one bolt is corroded and all the others are fine, and the oil had water in it, but that could have been condensation from what I am reading from the fill cap. I didn’t see any cracks in the case. It turns over by hand easily, no binding. when I took the head bolts out they were all tight. Same with the back end by the seal.
Here is a whole lot of photos - seal looked fine, ceramics aren’t cracked. I’m at a loss Less than 500 hours on it, probably about 400.
What exactly failed on the pump? If the issue was the water in the oil the cause is most likely worn/gouged seals or brass in the head, have you removed the ceramics from the rods to give them a full inspection?
Not an expert in pump repair by any means, but at quick glance, this area isn’t as uniform as the others. Maybe a poorly seated/bad packing let water into the crankcase? Hard to tell, but in the second photo you posted it looks a lot milkier than what I’d expect just a bit of condensation mixing with the oil would do.
I’ll be playing with it a bit more tomorrow since we are getting over an inch of rain. What happened is the engine was running, belts were turning, but no water came out of the gun, started sputtering. When I replaced the pump and adjusted the unloader it ran fine.
I’m no mechanical wizard, but I have no problem tearing things apart and looking at them with a puzzled expression. My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that it is the valves, ceramic, and seals are the first thing I should check.
Yeah, there was some milk in there when I took it apart, not completely milked up though. That stuff went into the rag and shop towel bin below me. I’ll take a better pic of the ceramics and the brass tomorrow.
I’m a noob on this, so if someone with first hand experience comes in, definitely defer to their knowledge. Just giving you some thoughts to troubleshoot it yourself if the experts don’t chime in quickly.
I’m not a mechanical engineer, nor have I had the (dis)pleasure of working one of these pumps yet. That said, I love puzzles and have spent quite a bit of time evaluating and learning based on your photos and diagnosis.
The rusted bolt is a key indicator of a long term leak. You stated you messed with the unloader. Do you usually tweak it or keep it dialed in? Did you replace all seals, including packing, when you replaced the valves? If you did, then there may be a mechanical surface wear issue prevent proper sealing. I’m thinking cavitation or running in bypass too long, or improper unloader setting giving very minimal wear over time. Packing has probably leaked for awhile, weep holes clogged, which led to oil seal failure. If you didn’t do full seal replacement when you put new valves in, definitely do it now. Clean weep holes while you are at it. Blast brake cleaner through them to get all the deposits out. If you did replace packing when you did the valves, there’s likely a surface wear issue that is out of clearance. You’ll have to check visually if it’s a part that can be replaced or surface that needs to be machined. Only so much we can tell by photos, lighting is tricky but you do appear to have some unusual wears as @OhioFloMo stated.
Best of luck, I’m curious others thoughts and will keep an eye on this one.
Umm maybe 30 hours could be 25 or 35. I had replaced the unloader prior to that and had new lines from the pump to the unloader and from the unloader to my HW heater. I had replaced the filter on the intake as well.
Yeah, new unloader so I messed with it a bit to get it dialed in to where my previous trapped pressure loader was set (keeping the 5% bypass per the manual). The valves come with all the doodads to replace them from GP. I inspected each one when removing them. There was some discoloration, but that could be from sitting in antifreeze (orangish) for several months a year every year.
I have a new pump on my rig, just ripping this one apart.
Ok, so I took off the ceramics and the brass bushing looking things. I looked at each one and felt each ceramic. I didn’t feel a uneven wear where the discoloration is. SO I looked the brass doodads too, a little wear, but I wouldn’t think it is considerable given how these things work non stop when PW. I took zoomed in pictures. The last picture is BBQ that I ate last year when I was in South Carolina. It gives me happy thoughts after messing with this thing.
I gave everything a stern look, gave it looks of both bewilderment and concern, but nothing jumped out at me and it didn’t whisper anything to me. Maybe one of you pump wizards can say something like - that doesn’t look normal. I have no frame of reference as this is the first pump I have torn apart. And, most likely it will be my last.
I would bet improper installation since you are around a couple percent of equipment total life, it’s hard to say exactly. Any symptoms before the pump failed? Or just suddenly?
I wanted to replace the old trapped pressure unloader with a k1 after all the people on here claimed how great it was (I do like it). While I was doing that I also changed the hoses on the intake and outtake sides of the unloader because the old ones were plumbed for the trapped pressure unloader and were too big. They had also been on the rig sitting outside for 4 years so I thought, better safe than sorry and replaced them, rather than just use a reducing bushing to get them to fit. I have had so much junk in my water lines (rural area) I thought “let me make sure the valves are functioning properly” and bought a rebuild kit from GP. I have a screen before my tank, and a screen after my tank just to eliminate any possible issues. When I replaced the valves they were functional (by depressing them lightly with a pic), but a little discolored. I put the caps back on to the spec with a torque wrench. I can’t recall what it was and would have to look it up again. I also have one that measures inch pounds for my bike - Why Can Am just why? I tested the rig out on my pole building and it seemed fine. Then I went and washed a couple of houses, had some rain delays, then back to washing houses and in the middle of one and cough sputter die.
Don’t know if that added clarification or not, or if I just told a tale. After I replaced the pump GF8040 with a TSF2021 - which is supposed to be a direct bolt on replacement - it washed great again. I even made hats that said Make Houses Great Again (just playing). I’m sure I could have done something wrong, I’m not some ASE certified mechanic or anything. Just a guy who tinkers with stuff. I’d much rather this thing be made from wood, that I understand. I’m also a part timer, so sometimes my stuff sits unused for awhile, especially if I have deck jobs to do in the interim. Sometimes I work for my buddies pool business, do some staining, then go wash vinyl a week and a half later.
