Technical > Home Improvement > (Old) Bath tub faucet repair

(Old) Bath tub faucet repair

Wiggle those knobs off of there and you should be able to see something you can put a wrench on.

Clarify "wiggle" please

Wiggle, as in what you do to have your Wife think that you are actually working on something.

reply to Hall
Well, in a world without corrosion, you could just pull those knobs off now, but since they are probably stuck on with a layer of crud, you might have to wiggle them while you pull.
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Iraq Coalition Deaths | bobrk

reply to Hall
Try spraying WD40 in where you removed the screws. You'll have to give it time to work. I've also had success removing the knobs by gently heating them with a propane torch. You can buy cartridge and seat wrenches at many places, including Lowe's, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, etc. If there is a plumbing supply house in your area, they might be able to give you specialized information about your brand of faucet. For example, the people at the Gerber franchise here suggested that it was better to use Monel, rather than bronze seats in the area served by my filtration plant. It drastically reduced the number of seat changes I had to do.

reply to Hall
Don't forget to turn off the water to the fixture before taking it apart. Remove the knob as told, unscrew the trim flange, remove the stem and replace it. While you are at it smash the pink tile and replace it with an up to date color.

reply to Hall
I think you're due for an extreme bathroom makeover! At least your tile isn't hospital green like mine!

reply to TODarling
What's wrong with pink tile? that's the color of mine......

reply to Hall
You can try vinegar to fight off the corrosion

reply to ArthurS
I wish I had a tile bath. Tile baths are cool... nice and solid. But I guess cleaning in between the tiles can be a pain though.

reply to bobrk
To "wiggle" off those knobs you probably need to pry them off with a flat bar (pad it on the tile with a towel and also pad it behind the knob so you don't scratch the finish -- seriously, you can clean up the knobs but you don't want to chip them). If the tub spout is leaking then you probably need to replace a washer. If it wears out quickly then you would need to replace the seat also. Just to clarify, there are no o-rings or cartridges in that valve. There should be no need to replace the valve set and it appears that your tile wall is in good shape. There is no sign of deterioration in the grout joints. The valve area is the first area that show problems so my opinion is that your tile is in good shape and the color is very "retro"!

reply to Hall
To remove as you have numbered #2
you may have to get »www.doityourself.com/invt/0328278

Than you may have to "unscrew" your number #1 the flange a strap wrench would be best if it's real hard to move.

tip: plug the drain, so when you drop the screw you wont loose it.

tip: better yet use a large towel and cover the bottom of the tub so when you drop a tool you wont damage the tub.
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When a man talks dirty to a woman, it's sexual harassment. When a woman talks dirty to a man, it's $3.95 a minute

reply to slyphoxj

reply to Hall
Hey, that tile matches our tub, toilet, and sink!

Matches our tub and sink too. we changed our TANK several years ago anf got a white one. (goes with everything.)

reply to Hall
Try CLR or Lime Away, then as everyone said, wiggle off the knobs. It may take a little work to get them off.

Once you do, the flanges have threads that screw on to the fixture behind the wall. If they won't unscrew by hand, you'll need a pipe wrench to loosen them. Put a wash cloth over the chrome to keep the teeth of the wrench from digging into the chrome, but it may be inevitable.

Once they are off, remove the inside cylinder of the faucet with a crescent wrench. There should be a black washer screwed to the end with a brass round head screw. Be careful, after years, the head of the screw can crumble when you try to loosen it and force too much. If you have to replace the insides, take one with you because there are lots of different sizes and threads and you need to match the old one exactly.

While you're at it, you also should take one of the flanges and faucet knobs with you to a hardware store, and get some shiny new replacements.

reply to Hall
Coming from a house with the "pink" bath from hell it will be blind luck if you can find stem's for that. Plumbing companies are absolutly criminal when it comes to making differant threads and designs. I went to an old plumbing place and his book was literly a foot thick of differant stem desigins.

Just a little warning.

I think theres a puller you can use for the handles as well to get them off.

reply to 8744675

reply to Hall
Well, I got the handles off. I let them soak in WD40 since yesterday (can't find my channel-lock pliers or pipe wrench, so I borrowed 'em from work). It took way more "wiggling" than I'd have liked... I was just waiting for something to BREAK !

Now the "flanges" are soaking with WD40. As noted above, I'm afraid of deforming them with regular wrenches. The flanges cover up the stem too much that I couldn't remove the stems while leaving the flange in place.... Well, maybe a socket would work (??).

Edit:
Looked at it closer and I'm pretty sure that I need to remove the nut on the stem before the flange comes off. The largest deep-well socket I've got is 5/8" though and I think it's one size bigger... When that's off, I'm thinking the flange will slide off as it's actually "clamped" between the nut and the wall.