Water pump repairs cover the pumps that sit on dry ground: booster pumps on a tank, pool pumps, irrigation pumps on a dam, garden and transfer pumps, and submersible pumps once they are out of the water. Most failures come down to a few parts: a leaking mechanical seal, noisy bearings, a worn or blocked impeller, a failed capacitor, a faulty pressure switch, or a burnt motor that needs rewinding. Send one request with the pump and the fault, and we pass it to independent pump workshops and rewinders near you, who quote you directly.
Common faults and what they usually mean
- Water dripping under the pump: the mechanical seal on the shaft has worn. Replace it soon, before water gets into the bearings and motor.
- Grinding or screeching: worn bearings, often after a seal leak.
- Hums but will not start: on a single phase motor, often the capacitor; sometimes a seized shaft.
- Runs but pumps little: a blocked or worn impeller, an air leak on the suction side, or a surface pump that has lost its prime.
- Starts and stops on its own: a pressure switch, a pressure tank that has lost its air, or a leak.
Pool pumps often add an air leak at the strainer lid; see pool pumps.
What happens at the workshop
A pump workshop strips the pump on the bench, checks the shaft, impeller, seal faces and bearings, and tests the motor windings and the capacitor. Many workshops then give a written quote listing parts and labour; ask whether there is a fee for stripping and testing if you decide not to go ahead. Seals, bearings and capacitors for common pump types are usually in stock, while parts for older or uncommon pumps can take longer. Booster pumps, irrigation pumps and transfer pumps make up much of the work.
Motor rewinds
When a motor burns out, the copper windings inside the stator are damaged, usually by overheating from running dry, a stalled pump, low voltage, a failed capacitor or a lightning surge. A rewinder strips out the old windings, winds in new copper to the same design, varnishes and bakes the stator, and tests it. Bigger motors on farm and industrial pumps are often worth rewinding. On small domestic pumps a rewind can cost close to a new pump, so compare both. Either way, find out why it burnt, or the same thing happens again.
Repair or replace
Repair usually makes sense when the pump body and impeller are sound and only the seal, bearings or capacitor have failed, or when the motor is large. Replacement makes more sense when the casing is cracked or corroded, the impeller is badly worn, parts are no longer made, or the pump was the wrong size from the start. A good workshop tells you which it is and prices both. If you are replacing, our booster pumps page covers sizing. Submersible pumps still down a borehole are covered under borehole pump repairs.
What to put in your request
- Type of pump: booster, pool, irrigation or other
- Motor size in kW and single or three phase
- What it does now: leaks, hums, noise, no flow
- Whether you can bring it in or need a callout
- A photo of the pump and its rating plate
Water Pump Repairs for homes, farms and businesses
- Homeowners: a booster pump on a water tank that drips under the motor and keeps starting
- Smallholdings and plots: a transfer pump from a dam to the house with noisy, worn bearings
- Farms: a large irrigation pump motor rewound before the planting season
- Complexes, estates and body corporates: pressure set pumps for a complex serviced with new seals and bearings
- Offices, shops, hotels and lodges: a hotel pool pump and booster set repaired between busy weekends
- Factories, plants and depots: process and wash bay pumps stripped and rebuilt in a workshop
- Mines and quarries: surface transfer pump motors rewound after burning out
- Municipalities, schools and clinics: small water and sewage pump motors sent to a rewinder
- Contractors and drillers: a plumber sending pumps from site jobs to a workshop for repair
Frequently asked questions
Do you repair pumps yourselves?
Can a pool pump that hums be fixed?
Is it worth rewinding a pump motor?
Do I have to bring the pump in?
Water Pump Repairs by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg