Philips SAECO Xsmall espresso machine repaired

I have a SAECO Xsmall espresso machine. I bought it in Dec 2014, and brewed 2~3 cups of espresso per day on the average over the last 6 years. Little maintenance other than decalcifying much less frequently than recommended but the machine worked with no big issue, until the water pump broke with audibly weaker power so water not coming out at all. One related symptom was that the boiler unit was getting very hot (heater running without water) so that the anomalous heat could be felt outside the machine (the boiler is located at the top left front).

* Image from Philips USA home

I repaired it in the end, after some trial and errors and a lot of web search. Below are the tips I'd like to share.

[Resources]

1. User manual : Limited information on basic troubleshooting. Didn't really help me.

2. Service manual : Truly a jewelry. Has everything including component diagram / disassembly steps / test mode / etc.

3. Vibration-type water pump operation principle

4. How to repair ULKA water pump : Was not of direct help to my case, but you can see the full interior of pump unit along with common issues.

[Tricky steps]

1. In order to attenuate the strong vibration, the pump is anchored to the main body with two rubber brackets holding the water line immediately next to the pump, one at up / downstream each. Shown below is the downstream one (in fact above the pump when assembled in place; water passes the pump upward). I could not pull the upstream one, but no need to, after the hose is unplugged from water flow meter. Note that the plastic water line has a circumferential indent to hold the bracket. Held quite tight without glue or bolt; just pry open hard.

The downstream one is different. This is where the service manual doesn't provide sufficient detail. The best way is to unscrew the pump unit below to remove the safety valve (page 67 of the service manual; pump unit and safety valve units are thread-joined), and slide down the pump through the downstream bracket. If you do want to take out the bracket for any reason, you need to open the whole top block (housing the grinding unit) as this block covers the bracket from the top. No need to fully remove the block. Remove a few screws, and then the block will open with front side hinged. For re-assembly, a bit of hand-hammering worked better than big force.

2. Water priming, or filling the water circuit with water only (no air) was the hardest-to-tell part, particularly within the pump. I strongly recommend to fill the pump with water first before connecting upstream hose. You could directly inject water with syringe into the pump (from the upstream end = from left in the image; the other side is closed with a spring-loaded valve), but a syringe without needle didn't work probably because the air inside could not be displaced. So I disassembled the pump unit above, water-fill the plastic casing (the left-half portion in the image, see video #4), assemble the pump unit with the upstream opening closed with finger, bring it upside down, connect upstream hose, and fill the hose with water. Once you are done up to here, pump + hose back upright won't drain the water from inside the pump.

In my case the root cause was the broken drive motor. In retrospect, purchasing and replacing the motor itself (~23 USD) was less trickier despite a few roadblocks. Proper water priming was way harder to figure out. Anyway I am very happy that I don't have to buy a new espresso machine (my spouse might have wanted?). 

After the above repair, brew group cleaning / lubricating felt like a piece of cake. See this video. You will be surprised to find years of uncleared sediments in the path of the coffee. Or by relatively small amount of dirt?