Bubbling Spray Head Sprinkler

[Fleemo]

Summer's come early this year, and I've already noticed a brown spot in my lawn. After a close inspection, it would appear that on one of my pop-up spray head sprinklers isn't functioning properly. Water is not only spraying from the head's nozzle, but also bubbling up through the 1.5" stationary ring that the head sits in when idle, resulting in less spray through the nozzle. Is this a clear indicator of a specific problem, like a cracked pipe below? Any suggestions for what is needed to get the sprinkler back in working order before I go digging up my lawn?

Thanks.

[NorMinn]

Dig away enough soil to see where the water is coming out. Sounds like broken pipe. You can't fix it if you can't see it. Pull back the sod a little bit and lay it back down after you make the repair. It could be that the head isn't screwed in tightly enough, but more likely the pipe is cracked/broken.

[Tom]

I would venture a guess that possibly because of calcium buildup, the head is not popping all the way up and thus it is not making a seal around the popup. Or of course it could be dirt or a worn out head causing this. I would simply replace the sprinkler.

[Fleemo]

I'll give that a shot. Thanks for the suggestion. I truly appreciate it. :)

-F

[NorMinn]

I just read the post again. Probably not the pipe. When the heads start to wear, they don't pop down when the water is off, and get damaged by mowers and such.

[Fleemo]

Thanks for your input, gentlemen.

After spending some time with my sprinkler system yesterday, the problem seems deeper than originally stated. I'll post in a different thread.

Your input is much appreciated. :)

-F