Fleck 9000 drive assembly broke

[Tomvp]

I have a Fleck 9000 valve where the upper drive gear broke the bushing in the control panel. I was able to repair the drive assembly but I suspect the reason it broke is that the valve actuation is too stiff.

I removed both the upper and lower pistons and the front side seals, the only thing I noticed was that the coating on the piston and piston rods were worn off in spots and flaking off in others. Is this enough to cause the stiff actuation? Would I be okay with just replacing the pistons and seals?

 

[ditttohead]

Worn valve internals will cause binding that can do what you have stated. Be sure to check the valve body for damage in the lower Seal and Spacer section. The center divider tends to go bad in time.

Replace the seal/spacer kits, pistons, brine valve, and a few O-rings. This may be a good time to consider updating to the 9100. The plastic valve body tends to be more durable in adverse water conditions.