Little Giant service and repair

[johnny7]

I have a couple of Little Giant 5MSPR sump pumps. One of them has quit working and I figured I can fix it myself. The problem with the unit is that the seal on the bottom has deteriorated and was leaking water into the housing. I knew this because I put it into a pail of water and noticed that there were oil droplets in the water the next day. I took it apart in a tub and sure enough, when I split the housing, it was full of water and oil. I'm drying it out now but I want to know, what type of oil and how much should be replaced in the housing?

 

[Geofd]

If the pump fails I have just replaced it,you can call little giant ad see what they say

 

[johnny7]

If the pump fails I have just replaced it,you can call little giant ad see what they say

In the past, that is what I have done but I have 5 of these units and in Canada, they are costing me over $300.00 to purchase them. I've done this twice now and I am not going to keep dropping that amount each time one breaks down. Yesterday, I was testing a new check valve and in testing, I saw oil in the bucket so now, I've got another leaky pump that I'm going to fix. I will call Little Giant but I'm guessing that they won't tell me that. They'll want me to purchase another new one.

 

[Geofd]

How old are these pumps,and how often are they cycling, do you have excessive hot water going into it????

 

[wpns]

Is it possible they are running when the motor is out of the water and overheating enough to burst the seals?

 

[johnny7]

Is it possible they are running when the motor is out of the water and overheating enough to burst the seals?

The pumps are older units. They all have the low level pressure sensors on them. I did run into an issue with one of them (not the one that I am going to be fixing) where the check valve didn't open up but I just happen to hear it running and went down and unplugged it. I know that those check valves (even the brass one's) need to be replaced after a couple of years. I have been replacing them with cheap Burcam check valves and those have been working just fine.

Also, as a side note and answer to my question, I found out that that oil that is used in those pumps is an AW32 hydraulic oil. Also, the part number for the gasket is 928024. I am located in Saskatchewan Canada and for any others out there in Canada looking for that gasket, EMCO sells them for $4.15 each. A new pump will cost $276.32 plus both taxes (11%) so this is why I am going to take a crack at fixing the pump myself. A jug of AW32 hydraulic oil (4 litres) is $47.00 and I am going to use some gasket sealer with the new gasket.

 

[johnny7]

How old are these pumps,and how often are they cycling, do you have excessive hot water going into it????

all sump pits are dry and have been for at least 5 years. I do test the pumps once a year to make sure that everything is working on them. This year, lots of issues. No hot water is going through them.