Had to choose between a new pump or fixing the old one on a tight deadline

Last month on a job near the Ohio River, my main dredge pump started grinding bad halfway through a 10-day contract. I had maybe 48 hours to decide: drop $4,200 on a new pump or try rebuilding the old one for $800 in parts. I went with the rebuild since we were already behind schedule and couldn't wait for shipping. Got it back together in about 14 hours with help from a buddy, and it actually ran smoother than before for the rest of the job. Has anyone else gambled on a rebuild instead of buying new and regretted it later?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookekelly7d ago

You ever had a rebuild that just flat out failed after a few months? I did a similar thing on a slurry pump two years back. Spent about $600 on bearings and a new impeller, figured it was worth the risk since lead times were long. Ran great for like four months, then started vibrating like crazy. Turned out the shaft was slightly bent the whole time, and it finally wore out the new bearings. Ended up costing me more in downtime than a new pump would have. Sometimes you get lucky, but that one taught me to check everything real close before buttoning it up.

gavinh267d ago

The thing people miss with rebuilds is the housing itself. Checked the shaft on a Goulds 3196 once and it was fine, but the casing had eroded unevenly around the discharge nozzle. New parts just didn't seat right because the wear ring fit was off by like fifteen thou. Ran okay for a bit then started chewing through mechanical seals. Had to scrap the whole thing anyway. A good dial indicator and a straight edge on the casing face would have caught it. Cheaper to buy a remanufactured pump from a shop that does X-ray and dye penetrant checks upfront if you ask me.