We purchased our Watts Zero Waste Reverse Osmosis system in 2008. It has been running fine until recently when the pump started leaking. I did a search on the internet and found that most people just replace the pump. I felt it was a waste to replace a perfectly functioning pump when it is a simple leak to fix. One person described how he disassembled the pump and cleaned and lubed it up and it was good to go. I’m fairly handy and thought I would give it a try.
It wasn’t difficult and I’ll outline the steps below. I forgot to take pictures so there isn’t a photo guide of this available.
1. Remove the pump from the RO system. Detatch all hoses and wiring. Mark where they all belong, or if you have a good memory, just remember where they go. To remove the hose lines, press the ring around the hose toward the body of the clamp. The hoses then will just slip out. Installation is just stick the hose into the fittings.
2. Remove 6 bolts from the top of the pump. 3 will remove the top cover, and 3 will remove the pump body from the motor body. That separates just at the top of the label on the motor.
3. Remove the top cover of the pump. Just pull it off by hand. When you pull this off, there are a couple of loose pieces inside. Remember their orientation for the reinstall.
4. Remove the pump body from the motor. This took a little more force, but it came off non-the-less.
5. Inside the top of the pump, mine was gross and icky. So I used a toothbrush to clean out the white circle thingies and the rest of the inside of the pump.
6. After the inside was cleaned, I used the suggested KY jelly to lube up the seal. I lubed under the white triangular plastic gasket, as well as the top side of the edge of the plastic gasket.
7. Then reassemble. I was sure to put the pump bolts on a little tighter than they were before. Perhaps this helped.
8. I ran the system empty twice to rinse out the rest of the system.
9. No more leaks! Much better than asking watts for a new pump at $175.
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