My shop vac is making weird noises and sparking - is it toast?

Hey Tool Discount Club folks, need some advice on my car vacuum. It's a 5-gallon shop vac I use for detailing my truck. Lately it's been acting up - making a grinding noise when it starts, sometimes I see a little spark near the plug, and it doesn't seem to hold suction like it used to. Tried cleaning the filter but no luck. Is this thing dead or is there a fix? Don't really wanna drop cash on a new one if I can help it.

Sounds like your motor brushes are shot. That's where the sparking's coming from - worn brushes arcing. The grinding noise could be bearing failure. At this point, you're probably looking at a motor replacement. Cheaper to just buy a new unit unless you're really attached to that particular vac. Pro tip: next time, empty the canister more often - dust kills those motors faster than anything.

Oh no! I had something similar with my wet/dry vac last year. Mine was making a horrible screeching sound though. I watched a YouTube video about replacing the bearings and it looked way too complicated for me. Chris is probably right about it being the motor. But maybe check the cord first? Mine had a frayed spot near the plug once that caused sparking. Just be careful if you poke around in there - unplug it first obviously!

Chris nailed it - motor brushes. That grinding means it's probably eating itself alive internally. The sparking near the plug could also be a loose connection in the plug itself. Give the plug a wiggle test when it's unplugged. If there's play, that's an easy fix with a new plug end. But if it's internal motor sparking like Chris says, that vac is now a parts donor. HVAC rule #1: when tools start sparking unexpectedly, they become someone else's problem.

LOL at Hank's 'parts donor' comment. For what it's worth, I've resurrected a couple shop vacs by just replacing the entire motor assembly. Tool Discount Club had them on sale last month for like $40. Cheaper than a new vac if the housing is still good. But honestly, with the sparking AND noise? Might be time to let it go. My landscape crew goes through these things every 2 years anyway - they're basically disposable at this point.