Hayward EC-30 DE Filter suction problem

Hi. I have the above filter on a 24' above ground pool with a 1hp power flo matrix pump. Out of the blue..i cannot get a good size air bubble out of the strainer box attached to the impeller housing. It wsa working fine until we hooked up the 1 year old hayward bug droid. the driod runs real slow now also but there is suction at the skimmer. When you drain the strainer attached to the motor and start the pump, the last 1" of water takes forever to fill the strainer box however leaving about a4" air bubble which likes to hang out right in front of the connection from the pool skimmer.

I cleaned the impeller, i took apart the filter and cleaned the tenacals,there are no restrictions or clogs. The pump motor is about 7 years old and the filter about 16. No leaks are noticed in the hard piping between the pool and motor. however i do have a union in the hard piping which is 16 years old also but it is not leaking so im assuming that the seal is ok. I did have to put a new strainer box on as as little kid wanted to see into the pool and broke it. I did not change the seal between the strainer and impeller assembly it appeared fine and no leaks.

At the return on the pool the water out of the filter is as strong as it always has been.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

Sounds like you have a suction leak. People know that leaks on the pressure side (downstream of the pump) leak water OUT, but often are confused by the fact that suction leaks usually leak air IN. And, they reduce suction.

I'm working on a extended post on suction leaks; I'll link to it once it's done.

Here it is: http://pool9.net/leak-s