Quote Originally Posted by let_her_flicker View Post
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.
Well, nothing is impossible such as a very poor tempering job on the shaft but if we really look at your situation; the "shop guy" said...

Take it for what it is worth but I would like to know how the "shop guy" made this determination that a half inch shaft is bent.

As was mentioned, you should not have an impeller with a bent shaft not only because a rock or whatever would have torn it to shreds but also, the clearance between the shaft and the housing is very small so that the impeller should have beaten itself to death while smacking the housing.

Could we possibly have a bad capacitor and a disreputable "shop guy"?

Did the motor make weird noises when it ran after smacking it? If not, I can't fathom a bent shaft for that reason alone, let alone the destroyed impeller that does not exist.