Continues leaking even after...

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crossnote

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Hello all,
I have a shower faucet that is leaking cold water.
I have replaced the stem, replaced the seat, used flat and rounded washers, even tried teflon tape in the threads of the stem.
It continues leaking all the same.
Any ideas?
 

Jadnashua

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NEVER use tape on straight threads...tape (or pipe dope) is only ever used on tapered pipe threads, not straight ones that are used to assemble a valve.

But, other than that, your question needs some more clarification...there are literally thousands of different valves out there...a generic answer probably won't help without seeing the bits involved. A picture may help.

But, if you used the proper replacement parts (identical matches), when you put it back together, it should operate as well as new. If I had to guess, other than the tape, which needs to come out, one or more of the parts you replaced was not an exact match, or you did not reassemble it properly (that can damage even good parts, depending on what you did).
 

crossnote

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NEVER use tape on straight threads...tape (or pipe dope) is only ever used on tapered pipe threads, not straight ones that are used to assemble a valve.

But, other than that, your question needs some more clarification...there are literally thousands of different valves out there...a generic answer probably won't help without seeing the bits involved. A picture may help.

But, if you used the proper replacement parts (identical matches), when you put it back together, it should operate as well as new. If I had to guess, other than the tape, which needs to come out, one or more of the parts you replaced was not an exact match, or you did not reassemble it properly (that can damage even good parts, depending on what you did).

It is a price -Pfeister S=1119-3 6123 hot/cold valve. I had tried without tape at first , both had same results.
Thx.
 

Jadnashua

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Did you get OEM parts, or try aftermarket versions from a different supplier? And, did you get those part numbers from the documentation you happened to save, or through research (which may have been wrong!?). A picture still would probably help one of the pros to verify the model.
 

crossnote

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Did you get OEM parts, or try aftermarket versions from a different supplier? And, did you get those part numbers from the documentation you happened to save, or through research (which may have been wrong!?). A picture still would probably help one of the pros to verify the model.

From an Ace hardware and those numbers were off the Price Pfister box.
 

Jadnashua

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Were the parts you got at Ace PF parts, or from some other manufacturer? On many of their valves, PF (think their name has changed, and maybe it's just Pfister now) will send you OEM repair parts for free. It might be worthwhile to call them, or go to a plumbing supply store and get some OEM parts and see what happens.
 

crossnote

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Were the parts you got at Ace PF parts, or from some other manufacturer? On many of their valves, PF (think their name has changed, and maybe it's just Pfister now) will send you OEM repair parts for free. It might be worthwhile to call them, or go to a plumbing supply store and get some OEM parts and see what happens.

There is the name LASCO on the bottom of the box.
 

Cacher_Chick

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One common mistake people make is to tighten the stem into the valve body without having it open. This can damage it. As Jim mentioned, original manufacturer parts solve some problems the aftermarket ones fail to.
 

crossnote

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Were the parts you got at Ace PF parts, or from some other manufacturer? On many of their valves, PF (think their name has changed, and maybe it's just Pfister now) will send you OEM repair parts for free. It might be worthwhile to call them, or go to a plumbing supply store and get some OEM parts and see what happens.
I did notice the old stem was made in USA Price Pfister..
the new is PF made in China.
Anything to that?
 

crossnote

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One common mistake people make is to tighten the stem into the valve body without having it open. This can damage it. As Jim mentioned, original manufacturer parts solve some problems the aftermarket ones fail to.


Thanks on the new valve stem I was careful to keep it open.
 

Jadnashua

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I did notice the old stem was made in USA Price Pfister..
the new is PF made in China.
Anything to that?

QA/QC may go to hell, or it may not...it depends very much on their contract and who's watching. They can make some really nice stuff very well, and they can mess up some easy stuff.

At some point, like with one of the LED bulb manufacturer's, they've found they can make them less expensive and more reliable after they decided to move their factory back to the states. Depends on the product.

Especially if the repair part says PF, I'd call them up and get their advice - they may just send you new parts, which, hopefully, will work.

It sounds like this is a quite old fixture - separate hot/cold stems do not meet today's plumbing code. You might want to bite the bullet and replace it with one meeting today's codes...you can legally repair the old one, but you could not replace it with the same thing.
 

crossnote

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QA/QC may go to hell, or it may not...it depends very much on their contract and who's watching. They can make some really nice stuff very well, and they can mess up some easy stuff.

At some point, like with one of the LED bulb manufacturer's, they've found they can make them less expensive and more reliable after they decided to move their factory back to the states. Depends on the product.

Especially if the repair part says PF, I'd call them up and get their advice - they may just send you new parts, which, hopefully, will work.

It sounds like this is a quite old fixture - separate hot/cold stems do not meet today's plumbing code. You might want to bite the bullet and replace it with one meeting today's codes...you can legally repair the old one, but you could not replace it with the same thing.
QA/QC? Anyhow the house is 1951. I'm not sure how old the old stems are. I'd hate to have to rip into the shower tile as it is original.
 

Jadnashua

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QA=quality assurance
QC=quality control

THey go together, but have different meanings. Both are required to have a consistent, reliable product.
 

crossnote

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What original Price Pfister stem would correspond to this Lasco S-1119-3 6123?
I'll try to hunt down the original Price Pfister part but I don't know it's part #.
 
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crossnote

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Hello all,
I have a shower faucet that is leaking cold water.
I have replaced the stem, replaced the seat, used flat and rounded washers, even tried teflon tape in the threads of the stem.
It continues leaking all the same.
Any ideas?

Problem fixed.
A retired plumber came by and slapped some teflon on the threads to the seat.

pp-faucet-seat.jpg
 
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