Leak from tub cold water spigot

BeanCntr · 07-31-2012, 05:12 PM

I am a nube here and am glad to have found and joined this site. Of all of the things that occasionally need repair around the house my least favorite( and least successful repairs) is plumbing.

With that said I have a leaking bathtub faucet that I have replaced both the cold and hot water stems with new units, but it continues to leak sometimes out the faucet and if the diverter valve is in the shower position, water comes out of the tube that forms the trim of the cold water faucet stem.

I am guessing that I need to replace the seats on the faucets and replace the washers but I am puzzled as to how water could leak out the trim of the cold water stem. If anyone has seen this please advise what the problem is. Btw it leaked in the same place before I replaced the stem unit, and I thought its replacement would cure it but it hasn't.

Thanks

ben's plumbing · 07-31-2012, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeanCntr

I am a nube here and am glad to have found and joined this site. Of all of the things that occasionally need repair around the house my least favorite( and least successful repairs) is plumbing. With that said I have a leaking bathtub faucet that I have replaced both the cold and hot water stems with new units, but it continues to leak sometimes out the faucet and if the diverter valve is in the shower position, water comes out of the tube that forms the trim of the cold water faucet stem. I am guessing that I need to replace the seats on the faucets and replace the washers but I am puzzled as to how water could leak out the trim of the cold water stem. If anyone has seen this please advise what the problem is. Btw it leaked in the same place before I replaced the stem unit, and I thought its replacement would cure it but it hasn't.

Thanks

picture of faucet would help....you replaced the stem unit did you replace the seat assy....

joecaption · 07-31-2012, 05:20 PM

If it's leaking behind the trim ring then most likly it's the packing nut where the stem meet the shaft that turns. May need repacking or just a slight tightning.

Thurman · 07-31-2012, 08:53 PM

AH, HA, bet it's a older Kohler. I have found that some of the older Kohler units are trouble when installing some of the newer stem, cartridge, seat assemblies. I have found that when you properly tighten the packing nut into the mixing valve assembly the packing nut will not tighten down enough to mash the new plastic washer. Remove the cartridge from the end, remove the straight barrel, then remove the thin brass washer between the barrel and the packing nut assembly. Sometimes this will allow the entire stem assembly to go into the mixing valve body just enough to seal off. I also have had to carefully file the length of the straight barrel down to make this work. Good Luck.