Metering Pump Seal Replacement on the HP 1090 Liquid

Chromatograph (LC)

Metering pump seals on the 1090 Liquid Chromatograph may be replaced either as a
part of a routine maintenance schedule or if a problem develops. Indications of bad
pump seals are unstable pressure on just one channel of the system or lower low
pressure numbers than normal or buffer deposits at the base of the pistons or, in
extreme cases, visible leaking from the metering pump. A subtle indication is a change
in retention time may be observed, indicating that the flow is not being delivered
properly.

1. Turn off the pump and lamp.

2. Turn off the line power from the back of the 1090 unit using the ON/OFF toggle
switch. Unplug the 1090 LC.
3. Remove the solvent reservoirs and the solvent reservoir compartment.
4. Observe the metering pumps. Note the position of the rotary switching valve on top
of the metering pumps and the fittings at the 3,6,9 and 12 o’clock positions.
5. Using a ¼” wrench, loosen and remove the fittings at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions
from the rotary switching valve.
6. Remove the screw at the base of the metering pump that anchors it into place.
7. Move the pump slightly to the left to disconnect the four cables to the Solvent
Delivery System Motherboard. The top two cables may be disconnected by
squeezing on the tabs of the connector and gently pulling. The bottom two flat
cables slide away from the Motherboard. One slides to the right and one slides
straight out and away from the Motherboard.
8. Remove the Metering pump from the mainframe of the LC and place on a
workbench. Note that the pump is top heavy and will easily fall over.

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9. Remove the printed circuit board and the transparent plastic cover from the right
side of the metering pump by removing the screw holding them in place.
10.Loosen, but do not remove the fittings at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions on the rotary
switching valve.
11.Disconnect the capillaries from each of the pump heads and rotate the capillaries
upward and out of the way. Do not remove the capillaries from the rotary switching
valve or bend the capillaries in any way, as they will be very difficult to re-install.
12.Note that the pump heads are spring loaded. Failure to properly hold the pump
heads in place while loosening them can cause personal injury, so be sure to wear
safety goggles when performing this step.
13.Using the thumb of one hand, press down on the pump head while loosening the
thumbscrew with the other hand. As the pump heads are released, they will pop
out for removal. Carefully remove both pump heads, one at a time.
14.Now remove the pump head springs and sapphire pistons from the piston bases.
15.Clean the springs and pistons. Examine the pistons for scratches. If the piston is
damaged, replace with a new piston.
16.Note the ball bearing at the bottom of each of the piston bases. This ball bearing
can drop out during disassembly and must be in place before reinserting the piston
during reassembly.
17.Position the pump head on a work surface with the plunger guide facing upwards.
Remove the three screws at the base of one of the pump heads and remove the
plunger guide. Note that the plunger guide is a one piece assembly (if a multiple
piece plunger guide is observed, replace with the one piece assembly). Remove
the pump seal by carefully prying out of the pump head. Clean the pump head and
plunger guide. Insert a new metering pump seal into the pump head.
18.Reinstall the plunger guide. Tighten the three screws uniformly in steps until they
are snug.
19.Perform the same procedure on the other pump head.
20.Reinstall the sapphire piston and spring into the piston base.
21.Align the pump head onto the sapphire piston by pushing down slowly with one
hand and easing the sapphire piston into the pump head with the other hand.
Compress the spring until the pumphead is in position within the metering pump.
Tighten the screw to secure the pump head in place.
22.Perform the same procedure with the other pump head.
23.Reconnect the two capillary lines from the rotary switching valve to the pump.
Rotate the capillaries downward and into position. Do not bend the capillaries.

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 Tighten the fittings to the metering pumps and the fittings to the rotary switching
valve, using the ¼ turn rule.
24.Replace the plastic cover and the small printed circuit board onto the metering
pump. Ensure that the two locating pins on the right side of the metering pump fit
into the two holes in the printed circuit board.
25.Insert the pump back into the 1090 mainframe. Reconnect the cables to the
Motherboard. The two top cables are keyed and will only plug in one way. The
cable from the rotary switching valve goes in the upper slot.
26.When reconnecting the flat ribbon cables, make sure that the red or blue line is up.
The top flat cable goes to the small circuit board attached to the metering pump.
The bottom flat cable goes behind the metering pump to the drive motor.
27.Locate the two tabs on the back base of the metering pump and slide these into the
mainframe. Reinstall the screw at the base of the metering pump.
28.Reconnect the solvent inlet and solvent outlet capillaries to the rotary switching
valve at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions. Use the ¼ turn rule and do not over tighten.
29.Reinstall the solvent reservoir compartment.
30.Replace the solvent reservoirs and pump the system with isopropanol (rinse with
water first if a mobile phase is present in that channel that will cause precipitation
when reacting with isopropanol).
31.After replacing the seals, it is common for the solvent delivery system to shut down
almost immediately after the pumps are started due to a high low pressure error.
This shutdown occurs because there is excessive air in the system. Simply turn the
pump on again and continue priming the solvent delivery system.
32.Check the channel with the new seals for steady flow and steady pressure
readings.

Part Numbers
Pump Seals 5062-2494
Spring 1460-1998
Plunger Guide 79835-43101
Sapphire Plunger 3980-0672

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