blown pump

[CLASSICPW 14]

3/4 way through a house wash today my pump started to studder, the hose and gun were vibrating and the pressure was low. I'm guessing the water supply's GPM's were getting low(on a well), but when I took it home and hooked it up to my house the same thing happened. I'm gussing it's time to replace the pump, any ideas?(honda engine, direct drive)

[One Tough Pressure 580]

A dirty water filter will starve a machine. Is yours clean?

[Mathew Johnson 123]

I have a couple of CAT pumps - low hours if you are in a jam.

[FullBlast 14]

Take the valve caps off the pump and check and see if any dirt got stuck in the valves. We have this happen all the time, just a lil piece of dirt to hold one of them open will lose press. and make it chatter. Good place to start looking is on the bottom one because that is where the water comes in at then move to the top ones.

[CLASSICPW 14]

thanks guys, filter's clean, but I'll be taking her apart tomorrow.

[John Orr 206]

I had a similar experience last week and it turned out to be the unloader. There was a piece of something jammed inside. I assumed it was a piece of the pump and ordered a rebuild kit, but so far, its working fine.

[CLASSICPW 14]

Thanks Matt for the offer, and thanks John for the advice. I've never taken apart a pump, but luckily I'm blessed with the ability to fix anything, I'm not sure where it came from, but I'm sure happy it's there.

[CLASSICPW 14]

OK, I pulled apart the pump and the oil is mustard yellow, what's up with that?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Bob W.? Russ J.?

Thoughts?

Beth

[PLD 14]

Most likely water in the oil. Could be bad seals, could be a cracked head. Either way you're looking at a rebuild. Get a new one, and drop the old one off at your local shop for re-work.

[VanDiesel99 14]

Could also be a cracked ceramic piston. I blew the air out a pump I had and didn't run antifreeze thru it. When it froze it damaged two of my ceramic pistons allowing water to be forced into the oil. Open up the pump and take a look around and see if anything looks abnormal.

[FullBlast 14]

There is a fellow in my area that works on pressure washers, thats all he does Give him a call, He live just south of Chambersburg but gets around. Country Power Washing Equip. 717-765-9478

[Russ Johnson 141]

Yep, water in the oil. Definitely will need repacking and possibly plungers. If it's a Cat or General, cracks are easy to see on the white plumgers. AR and Comet use brown plungers. They have to be inspected carefully under a good light. Check the plunger rods for play in and out. If they're damaged, just get a new pump. If you take the plungers off, make sure to replace all the washers and o rings under them.

[Russ Johnson 141]

Hey, Classicpw, what about the pump? Is it fixed?