Fixing leaking shower head...turns out pipe coming out of wall is the source

plumbingboy9317

I removed my dripping shower head assuming I could put in a new 0 ring and fix it. When I got the head off, the pipe coming out of the wall was dripping.

Is this a serious problem? Will this require a plumber?

Ron6519

Hard to tell. The information supplied is insufficient.
The pipe coming out of the wall is controlled by the wall mounted shower control. There should be no water leaving this area unless there's an in issue with the control mechanism.
Post a picture of the shower control. It will cut to the chase.
Do you know what type of control you have? Do you have the installation instructions?
Ron

plumbingboy9317

It is a Kohler system:

First the control knob:



Next the shower head itself:



And this is how they are both positioned:



Any help would be appreciated. Just fyi, Im a novice at this kind of stuff

Attached Thumbnails

     

Ron6519

The closeup of the shower head looks like there's rust coming out of the bottom. Are you on a well or does the house have some galvanized pipes?
Do you have the installation instructions for this shower control? Is it a ceramic disk unit?
If you don't have the paperwork, go online and get it. You will need it to open the unit up and check under the hood. You will need the installation manual. You can also print out the owners manual.
It's possible you have something caught in the mechanism that's allowing water to get through. It could be teflon tape from the pipe rough in or some grit that has made it into the house.
Was the system flushed before the cartridge was installed?
Does the house have a sediment filter system installed?
How old is this installation?
Answering the questions and the manual will help with the diagnosis.
Ron

plumbingboy9317

The only thing I can tell you is that we built this house new in Dec 2002. We dont have a sediment filter. Im not sure if it is ceramic or not.

I did find the product installation guide online here http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/113280_2.pdf

Im going to read through it and see if anything makes sense to me. Let me know if you have any tips.

Thank you

Ron6519

Sure I have tips. You need to disassemble the unit and pull the cartridge out. Check the interior of the showerbody for foreign particles. Check the rubber gaskets, o-rings and such for slices, gouges or splits that would allow water to pass the seals.
Check the trouble shooting guide for anything else.
Before you reassemble this, put plumbers grease on all the rubber parts.
Ron