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I had a pool pump motor given to us that isn't working right.
When the power is switched on the shaft jerks to a fixed position, and stays there unless i give it a manual turn.
Once the motor starts spinning it is labored and gets very hot.
It rotates freely when the power is off.

I am trying to figure out how to open the motor to see what kind of shape it's in.

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Here's the label:

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I don't see any fasteners or anything obvious, and I can't find any instructions or manuals online.

Edit:

There is no capacitor.
Here's a close-up of the front:

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And the back:

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    I don't see a bulge on the side that may house a starting capacitor, it may have a centificial starting winding , these can be tough for a new DIY person to take apart and repair. It can be done but there are usually 4 long bolts holding the motor together the weighted contacts are almost always in the back side of the motor. If the mechanism is rusted or has grass keeping it from shifting it can keep the motor from starting or from shifting to high speed. This is where I would look. Had a snake shed its skin in one , after cleaning it worked for many years.
    – Ed Beal
    Commented Jul 8, 2016 at 23:54
  • Seconding the centrifugal start switch/winding setup, otherwise why would the motor need to have the on-off switch wired into it instead of wired between it and the supply?
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 0:40
  • @EdBeal right, no capacitor, and there were 4 long screws going all the way through that held the pump housing in place. I removed them, but you can see the holes in the new pictures. There is one small screw in the front, but I think it may be for the bearing?
    – AndyD273
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 0:46
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    Do you have an ammeter? If so, measure the current draw when the motor is stalled, and after you get it spinning with a push. Once you remove the long bolts, a few gentle taps from a hammer and some prying should help pull it apart. Before you go through the trouble of opening the motor, try to look at the windings (if you can). You might see that the start windings are burnt up.
    – Tester101
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 3:55
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    You may need to pull the screw in front to push the motor armature out the back. The back should also come off but with the corrosion it may be more difficult to pry loose than pushing from the front. Take a good photo of the wire connections as you may need to disconnect several to completely pull this apart. Adding Penetrating oil from the stator frame to back cover may help loosen things up.
    – Ed Beal
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 15:32

1 Answer 1

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So I put some penetrating oil in as suggested by @EdBeal, and then proceeded to pry the crap out of it to get it open. Took a little work but it did happen.

Unfortunately, the previous owner leaving it out all winter didn't do it much good, and the motor is beyond the amount of money and time I want to put into it.

Fortunately I was able to get a hold of another one that's in much better shape, so the pool is happy again!

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