Brass drain leaking on Tub -- How replace?

[Davisteve]

Water was dripping under my house and I finally decided today was the day to see why! I finally found that the brass tub drain is leaking. It appears it is between the drain and the tub. It would be best probably to replace but how do you get it undone and back together since it was built in place?

Does the drain unscrew from the top? There is no nut underneath and only the drain with a cross (+) in it on the top. It is about 40 years old!

THanks for any ideas!

 

[Dunbar Plumbing]

They make a dumbell wrench that fits inside the cross bars and removes the drain piece. Use plumber's putty to put the trim piece back, along with teflon thread sealant on the threads so it will come back apart in the future.

 

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[Davisteve]

Thanks

Found the tool -- Pricey though!

 

[Plumber1]

Use a screw driver and a pair of pliers.........

 

[Bob NH]

I like two screwdrivers and a pair of pliers.

Or a piece of steel rod (about 3/8", square is ideal) bent in a U hairpin shape (use a torch).

You can take a piece of metal or hard wood, or a piece of 2x3 or 2x4, and put two bolts in it at the correct spacing to make a spanner.

You want to apply force to the cross as far as possible to the outside, to reduce the possibility of breaking out the cross piece.

WHEN the cross piece breaks (probably 50% chance) you will need to carefully split the part out without damaging the tub. You can saw the vertical, and maybe the flange, with a hack saw blade. You may have to cut two places. Be sure to protect the tub because it is easy to damage it.

A saber saw or a Sawzall will work, with greatly increased possibility of damaging the tub.

 

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Go to Home Cheapo dot com, type in "plumbing tools" in the search bar and on that front page will show a tub drain removal tool.

$6.99 is pricey? You're killin me man

Sometimes that wrench doesn't fit according to the crossbar make, but you can angle it to catch at least one hole and most times takes it right out.

And they are awesome for installing the new ones which seem to always mesh good with the wrench.

I used to use tin snips to get the old ones out and put new ones in. I broke down and finally spent $6.99 and saves the frustration of accidentally busting out the crossbar. That tool can also remove those drain pieces without the crossbars by driving a wood shim inbetween the wrench and the drain. Short of getting out the sawszall and notching the inner edge to use a screwdriver and hammer to get it turning.