elsie, i gave the price based on how much the pool store wanted when i had to buy a new one..15 bucks..i'm sure in the u.s. you can get them much cheaper. heck, if i had gone to a hydraulic parts supplier, i probably could have got it cheaper..but, i was already in the middle of a 50 dollar an hour service call..so, in for a pound

in regards to the pump guage, for the price, replace it and if in a climate where it can get cold, take it off during non pool season. they are easy to damage in the winter..i don't take mine in the house, but i do remove it during winter. it works fine.

if the pump fills with water when it is primed quickly otherwise, i would not worry about the sound if it were me unless it clearly becomes an issue of metal on metal sounding constantly..2 years ago, my old sta-rite started making the squeal sound on startup, even when primed. (or i thought primed)

2 things i found upon investigation.

a) i did have a plumbing leak that was allowing enough air to get in that my pump was not completely full of water at "prime". it would slowly leak during my 6 hour of no pump cycles. not leak completely, but would leak about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pump basket down. that was one issue that i fixed by simply fixing the pipe leak (i had thought maybe it was a seal leak on the pump..it was not) so clarifying where you may have leaks is important..whether at the pump, in the pipe system or even at the filter valve (i.e. multiport)

b) the other is i think my pump was simply getting old and upon cold startup, something is wearing out.

i did buy a replacement pump this year as i found a GREAT price on one from a guy who sells rebuilts on ebay...and because i was changing out pretty much everything else in my system and wanted no 'weak" links in the new system..but it was still running fine in spite of noise for 2 years past the time it started and is in my basement as a backup.

while it's a little bit of work, if you are concerned, take it out of the system and to a pump rebuild place..likely save you some money on an at the house the service call and they can bench test it there?