By mistake I ran my pump without water running. How do I know if I damaged my pump?
Gary Stonish asks "I have a new pressure washer. I went to winterize it and without thinking I ran it for about 5-6 minutes without water running through the pump. Did this damage the pump?"
Harold: Most pumps have a lubricating type of washer within the seals to help in situations where the pump runs for a short period of time without water.
Normally the seals would only be damaged if you noticed that the pump head had become very hot to the touch. The heat would have then caused heat stress to the seals and could possibly damage them.
As for the plungers, they could only be damaged if the pump head had become very hot and you then put water back in. This might have caused the ceramics to crack.
Without having your pressure washer in front of me I cannot know for sure if it has been damaged or not. Check for any of the symptoms I mentioned above. The chances of damage in the short time frame you mentioned though are very low.
