Fleck 5600 Piston & Seal Kit Replacement

The Fleck 5600 water softener/auto-filter control valve is designed to last decades under normal conditions. When your water is high in hardness, iron or chlorine or if your control valve is set to backwash frequently, your 5600 may require some upkeep. One of the more major overhauls involves replacing the piston and seal & spacers in the control valve body.

The Fleck 5600 Service Manual covers this procedure in two separate operations and they cover them very well, but we have included illustrations and photos here to help out even more. We here at Water Value feel strongly that if you are replacing the piston, then the seals and spacers should be replaced as well, and the other way around. That is why we offer the piston kit and seal & spacer kit as a single purchase for a discount over separate purchases.

This example is not to be used in place of the service manual and is for informational purposes only. We'll follow the steps in the service manual and offer pictures along the way whenever possible.

Step 1. Unplug electrical cord from outlet.

Step 2. Turn off water supply to conditioner or filter. You can do this either by shutting off the water supply to the whole house or by turning your bypass valve's lever to "Bypass" if your system is so equipped.

Step 3. Relieve water pressure in the conditioner or filter by putting the control valve in "Backwash" position momentarily. You'll hear the water rush out and when it's done, you should set your control valve back to "Service".

Step 4. If you're working on a metered control valve, remove the meter cable from the meter dome. An auto-filter or timer-controlled softener will not have one of these. Remove the back cover from the control head. This is held in by two hex-screws.

Step 5. Remove screw and washer at drive yoke.

	The inside back of the 5600 control valve with the cover removed.
	The "screw and washer at drive yoke" that the service manual refers to is highlighted here with a yellow arrow.

Remove timer mounting screws.

The "timer mounting screws".

The entire timer assembly will now lift off easily. Remove end plug retainer plate.

The end plug retainer plate. This plate fastens the timer/meter head to the control valve body and holds the piston and seals & spacers inside the valve body.

Step 6. Pull upward on end of piston yoke until the assembly is out of the valve body.

This is the piston and spacer & seal assembly inside of the control valve body. With the end plug retainer removed, this will slide right up and out.

Step 7. After removing all the seals & spacers make sure there is nothing inside the valve body's cylinder that would interfere with inserting the new seals & spacers. Also check to make sure that there is not a seal left on the bottom of the cylinder. You will be replacing it with a new one.

	There are four (4) spacers and five (5) seals.
	The Fleck 5600 piston assembly. This is the softener configuration. The auto-filter version is shorter.

Stack the seals & spacers into the cylinder of the control valve body alternating with a seal first and then a spacer until you are finished with a seal on the top.

It is important to seat the seals properly. There are slots inside the valve cylinder which allow for water flow during various backwashing stages. The edges of these seals can hang up in one of the slots causing problems. Use your fingernail and "trace" around the outer edge of each seal to insure it is seated properly. You will know if one of these seals get hung up in a slot when you finish putting the piston assembly in and it is sticking up too high for the end plug retainer to be positioned properly.

Step 8. Take new piston assembly as furnished and push piston into valve by means of the end plug.

	The seals & spacers are inserted into the valve body cylinder. The piston assembly is ready to be inserted.
	The piston assembly is being inserted into the seals & spacers. Gently twist clockwise while doing this.
	The piston assembly is seated into the control valve body. Rotate the piston yoke clockwise to line the yoke up with the drive gear. Replace the end plug retainer plate.

Step 9. Replace timer on top of the valve. Be sure the drive pin on main gear engages the slot in the drive yoke. You may need to rotate the control knob to get it to line up.

Step 10. Replace the timer mounting screws and the screw and washer for the drive yoke.

Step 11. Pressurize the system. Slowly open the water supply valve or move the bypass valve to the service position. The system should pressure up quickly and you can open the valve the rest of the way.

Step 12. Plug the electrical cord back in.

Step 13. Cycle the control valve manuallly and watch the operation in the back of the valve to make sure the piston and its yoke are attached and working properly.

Step 14. Replace the back cover. Make sure that the meter drive cable is running through its slot before tightening the screws that hold the back cover on.

The meter cable slot is indicated by the yellow arrow.

Step 15. Make sure there is enough brine in the brine tank.

Step 16. Rotate the program wheel (NOT the control knob) counter-clockwise until it stops at regeneration position.

Step 17. Manually regenerate. This will allow you to check for any leaks or piston binding while the system goes through its cycles. If you did not feel any binding while rotating the control knob in step 13, there shouldn't be any trouble.

Step 18. Plug the meter cable back into the meter dome.