Just took motor to shop and found out the shaft is bent. Symptom was shaft not turning and motor making that starting noise until I banged on the motor. (I don't recommend that solution to anyone) The cost to straighten the shaft (if they can) pretty much equals the cost of a new two speed pump.

I actually have two questions. The first one is could excess debris getting into impeller or adding DE medium too fast cause the shaft to bend under pressure?

The second question is based upon me looking at older threads and saw a comment about when switching a motor off and the shaft spinning freely. Should the shaft spin freely when the pump is turned off, slow down fairly quickly or come to pretty much an abrupt stop?

Thanks ahead