I have scrapped a bunch of submersible well pumps. Seperate the motors from the actual pump section first. Don't even bother trying to break down the motor to get the copper out. All the ones I have seen had windings encased in epoxy to make them waterproof. My yard gives .25c per pound and those dang motors are heavy!
The upper pump section is usually full of plastic impellers mounted on a stainless steel shaft with stainless discs seperating the impellers. Usually you can unscrew the top fitting where the pipe threads into with a big pipe wrench and simply pull out the whole impeller stack. If the top/bottom wont unscrew just cut a few slits in the case and it will come out.
The really old pumps sometimes have bronze impellers in them! Those are a goldmine but very rare from what i've seen.
Its also nice if you can get the wiring that went down the well too! usually a few hundred feet of 10/2 or 10/3 solid core copper wire.
I love submersible well pumps!
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