Tuesday, Apr 1 2014
Last week our espresso/coffee maker stopped pumping water. The pump had been making stranger than normal sounds for a while so the failure wasn’t a complete surprise. The replacement pump I ordered arrived today.
Sick Espresso Machine
Remove top
Shield
The non-working pump
A #2 phillips screwdriver gets the top off. A long shank #2 is needed to loosen the screw at the bottom of the rear pannel. A #1 is needed to loosen the two screws at the top of the rear pannel. Once the rear pannel is removed the #2 phillips is again used to remove the two screws holding the shield in place. When removed you have easy access to the pump.
The other tools needed are a pair of pliers to remove the spring clamp from the water input tube; an 8 mm wrench to remove the soft mounts from the bottom of the case; and a 12 mm wrench (used with the 8 mm) to remove the output tube from the pump.
New (top), old (bottom)
Move fittings to new pump
Taped fitting
Notice the difference in pumps. I splurged for the top end replacement that has a brass output instead of the plastic found on the original. I think the price difference was $75 vs $60.
The fittings on both ends of the old pump need to be removed and moved to the new pump. Some pipe dope or teflon pipe tape is needed on the output side to protect from leaks. Or so said the various how-to articles found on the internet. I had some pipe tape and used it.
No leaks
Before putting everything back together I made sure the new pump pumped and checked for leaks. Everything looked good. Water was flowing, again. I put the shield and sheet metal back and top together and moved the machine to its normal spot on the kitchen counter. All is well with the world, again.