Eheim Rattle Prattle -- or - Grinning and Bearing It

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Apparently your *not* supposed to run your 2213 without
water at the impeller.  Who woulda thought?

During a water change, the level dipped below the siphon
for my 2213 and I, distracted with another tank, didn't
notice.  It ran with a dry impeller for about half an hour.
 When I corrected the situation, of course, the pump made
something a rattling racket -- *not* normal for an Eheim.

Replacing the impeller assembly is easy enough except for
the bearing that's buried inside the motor head unit.  It's
a friction fit but quarters are too narrow to reach in and
grab the bearing.  I tried a number of things, but whatever
fit into the hole to reach the bearing, wouldn't grab the
bearing firmly enough to remove it.  Then I switched to one
of the two tools besides duct tape that every DIYer always
has on hand.

I used a rod cut from a thin wire coat hanger (Joan
Crawford be damned).  With a pair of needle nose pliers and
the manual dexterity that would make any accomplished
jeweler exclaim, "So what" I bent the end over at about
1/4" and then turned the end all the way over (U-shaped) so
that the U is a bit less than 1/8" long on the short side. 
I crimped the end tightly so that the "hook" thus formed is
tight against the rod.  This was narrow enough to fit into
the bearing, but tight enough that the bearing grabs over
the hook.  I could then twist the hook into the rubber
bearing and then pull the rod back out, bringing the
bearing with it.

Cost?  A bit of my honor, plus $13 for a new impeller
assembly, including shaft, bearings, and the lower
"securing piece."  I get the coat hangers free from the
clothes cleaners -- hey, it wasn't all bad news ;-)

I hope this never happens to you.  But if it does, I can
lend you a special, custom, handmade upper-bearing removal
tool.  Or you can make one yourself in about 30-40 seconds.

Scott H.
whose Eheim doesn't hardly make a sound -- anymore.

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