How to fix a dripping Moen shower faucet?

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hj

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Moen

Yes, some of the plastic stems do turn on by themselves. I once was working at my sister-in-law's house and noticed that her shower valve was VERY hard to turn on, so I replaced the stem. That night she called and asked if I had repaired her shower valve, because when she grabbed the handle and gave it the tug she usually had to, it moved so easily she almost went through the opposite wall. YES, Moen valves, especially the brass stems do work LONG past the time when they should be serviced, but the user just gets used to them needing more and more effort to turn them on.
 

Walds11

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The job was a peice of cake. I did not need the puller, so I will return it. The old cartridge came out very easily. Anyway, I am still getting a little drip after installing the new cartridge. I even noticed a slight drip after I turned the water off at the meter. Does the new cartridge need to break itself in? The drip with the water off at the meter tells me that the problem is not just the cartridge. Ugh!
 

Walds11

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Thanks Terry. I know there is always some drip right after you turn the faucet off, which may have been what I saw, but it appears fine now. Maybe it was some extra water that was left in the piping?*
 

Terry

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but it appears fine now. Maybe it was some extra water that was left in the piping?*

You can time yours.
Most take 35 minutes for all of the water to finish dripping out.

Most people don't notice, but for those that do, it can be an annoying plumbing call to babysit the tub faucet and explain that water sticks to the inside of a pipe, and takes that long to finally drip it's way dry.

Been there, done that.
 

Walds11

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No dripping :D

My master bathroom shower has the same handle (no tub, just handle and shower head). Same Moen 1225 replacement cartridge?
 

Walds11

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I need to replace the cartridge in the master bath shower as I stated a few posts above. I pulled the handle and collar off just to check things out. Yep, it's the same Meon 1225 cartridge. I put the collar and handle back on. The handle spins all the way around and does not stop in either direction. I never noticed this before. The shower is still fully functional with the hot-left and cold-right, butthe handle spins all the way around. Could I have put it back together wrong? May not matter because I am going to buy a replacement cartridge soon.
 

Krow

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I need to replace the cartridge in the master bath shower as I stated a few posts above. I pulled the handle and collar off just to check things out. Yep, it's the same Meon 1225 cartridge. I put the collar and handle back on. The handle spins all the way around and does not stop in either direction. I never noticed this before. The shower is still fully functional with the hot-left and cold-right, butthe handle spins all the way around. Could I have put it back together wrong? May not matter because I am going to buy a replacement cartridge soon.

It could be that the tabs in the handle have broken off or the handle is the wrong one for that particular faucet.
ie: a lav faucet handle will fit the shower, but it will not sit at the right depth for the tabs to engage the stops
 

Walds11

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I pulled the handle off again. It does not look like the tabs in the handle have broken off. I pulled the handle off the other shower that I replaced the cartidge and compared the tabs. The tabs are definitely different (different shape and positioned differently). I don't even remember if the handle stopped or not before :confused: I use the darn shower every day. Anyway, is there any risk as long as I don't go spinning the handle around and around?

It could be that the tabs in the handle have broken off or the handle is the wrong one for that particular faucet.
ie: a lav faucet handle will fit the shower, but it will not sit at the right depth for the tabs to engage the stops
 
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Botoo

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If your Moen still drips, you would have to take it apart again and clean the barrel of the valve and make sure there is no foreign matter anywhere in the new cartridge or barrel. I had to do this twice.

Also mine, which looks just like yours, has two plastic pieces that fit into the stainless sleeve, which limit the turn of the handle. Are you sure these are in right? or not forgotten?

Hope I could help. I am very familiar with these.
 

Walds11

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It does not drip anymore.

I am working on the shower faucet in my master bathroom now. Attached are two pics. I still can't remember if the handle stopped in either direction before I took it apart yesterday. Maybe I put it back together incorrectly?

drippingshowerfaucet1.jpg


mastershower1.jpg
 
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Walds11

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And attached is a pic of the handle from my other bathroom shower (the one I replacement the cartridge eariler in the post). This handle works perfectly in my master bathroom shower. You can tell the differences between the handles. The first one has a larger diameter opening, a plastic ring inside and the tabs are in a different position.

part number for first one is 96997 and second one is 14114.

mastershower2.jpg


So now what? Buy a new handle?
 
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Botoo

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The 2 plastic pieces that I am referring to are shown in the enclosed picture as "C" and the other is shown installed into the stainless sleeve already.
These limit the travel of the handle and you can set them to limit the water temperature.

Yours may be different, but there must have been something like this. Maybe the shaft of the replacement cartridge you purchased is a little longer. That could be the problem.

Char0001.jpg
 

Walds11

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I have a different set-up. The plastic handle just slides onto the metal collar. There are no other parts involved that I am aware of.
 

Krow

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The 2nd handle that you posted looks like a posi-temp handle. It works entirely different than the first handle. The positemp faucet rotates to turn it on.

I suspect that the 2nd handle was replaced at one point with a positemp handle. It may have been replaced by a previous owner who may not have known the difference between the 2 handles. Botoo is showing the basic positemp faucet in his pic
 

Walds11

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That makes sense. I was at Lowes today and they had the same handle that I posted in post #34. It was labeled posi-temp handle on the box. I have to pull the handle to turn the water on, not rotate it. It's the wrong handle as you suspected. No big deal, just a minor annoyance.
 

jrob455

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I have a Moen problem, too

Hi, I'm new here, and am just a do-it-yourselfer, not a plumber.

Yesterday I replaced a Moen positemp shower catridge that had been dripping for a month or so, then suddenly started leaking in more of a light stream. The old cartridge, by the way, was VERY hard to remove--I had to use a small pry bar and wooden blocks to gradually leverage it out.

I put in the replacement cartridge and the dripping stopped, everything seemed to be working fine. But now today, less than 24 hours later, a slow but steady drip has started again. Any ideas on what the problem could be and how to fix it?

Thanks.
 
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