I have a Salvatore Famosa machine in good shape approximately 15 years old. When I start brewing for espresso I initially see good flow and pressure which then quickly goes away and I am left with low flow and little or no pressure which results in shots with little or no crema. I cleaned the copper supply lines, removed, dismantled and cleaned the EX 5 pump. There were no broken parts in the pump, the piston was a little pitted and the piston wiggled a little in the nylon cylinder. Is it possible I need a new pump? Should I use a different pump? The machine is in good shape and I would like to repair it rather than replace it.

Is the flow constant with no basket?

Against a blind basket, does the pressure or sound of the pump change after the pressure tops out?

Is it possible that the boiler fill is leaking, overfilling the boiler?

The flow is not constant with the basket removed. When the basket is removed and I turn on the brew switch there is an initial good burst of flow and then the flow goes down with two little streams, after that the flow is variable but it does not have a nice spray through the screen as when it is first tuned on.

The sound of the pump does not appear to change.

I have the covers removed from the machine and see no leaking.

How would I diagnose overfilling of the boiler?

Boiler over fill is indicated by the ability to draw a large volume of hot water before the pump starts. If the pump starts almost every time the machine is turned on cold, the boiler fill is probably OK.

The problem sounds like either a bad pump, corroded or bad connection or floating junk in the brew circuit.

Can you measure the pump voltage? If the voltage starts fine ~110v, then drops significantly, check all pump circuit connections.

If the voltage is good, assuming there is an OPV, insert blind basket and observe tank return. Once OPV flow starts, it should remain constant. If it increases dramatically, OPV could need service or less likely, intermittent brew circuit blockage. If flow drops, pump is suspect.

The pump starts every time the machine is turned on.

I cleaned the brew circuit lines.

I will check the voltage on the pump.

Excuse my ignorance. Is the OPV on the water supply line coming from the water supply tank? There is a large brass valve that I removed and cleaned it had a spring and small valve in it. Also is a blind basket the basket with a stopper device inserted in it? Thanks for our help.

Correct. A blind basket is one without holes used for backflushing. The OPV (Over Pressure Valve) is the brass assembly you cleaned. That is how you adjust your brew pressure. That spring/ball opens venting pressure back to the water tank. Your pump runs at 15 bar but you adjust the valve to open at say, 9 bar. That vents the excess pressure/water back to the water tank. If it is set very low or leaking it could vent most of your brew water back to the water tank and give you very little out the group. From your description, it sounds like you pump may be leaking especially if the piston was loose in the sleeve. 15 years is a good run for a vibratory pump.

I would like to thank you all for your help. I am going to replace the pump.

Did you have one of the older pumps? I just ordered an EAX5 to replace, but I noticed the inlet is plastic and the old one is brass. Wondering what i'll need to do to adapt... i'd rather not spend 15 bucks on the silly plastic nipple to threaded adapter.....

BTW... same issue here. 90's Famosa...