how to fix a simple drip in an old 3 handle tub/shower tap set

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Johnny-Canuck

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My mom's house was built close to 60 years ago and the bathtub taps have a small but annoying drip that she wants to have fixed. It should be just a simple case of removing the valve stem and installing a new washer (based on the vintage of the original installation). My problem is that when the house was built they didn't provide an access panel arrangement to be able to access the piping and valve body stuff that's behind the tiled bathroom wall.

The pictures I'm attaching give you a view of what I mean. Are there any tips/tricks that would let me get the valve stem out relatively "safely"? What I mean by "safely" is that there is a nut that I think I need to remove, before I can get the valve stem out, but what I'm concerned about is that if I need to put quite a bit of pressure on the wrench to remove this nut, I'm afraid that whatever it's attached to behind the wall (and that I don't have access to) might break.

Here are 3 pictures. This first one shows the tap from the side. I was able to easily unscrew what I think is called the packing nut. With the packing nut off, when I turn the tap handle I believe I should be able to just continue to turn the handle and unscrew the valve stem right out of the valve body. However, my problem is that I can't unscrew the valve stem completely the way I was hoping, because it appears to me that it's stopping when it reaches the nut that's visible ... and so that's why I suspect I also need to remove this nut.
Photo0019.jpg

Another view of the nut.
Photo0014.jpg

And a very limited view of what I can see behind the wall and that I'm afraid of damaging.
Photo0016.jpg

I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone has. Thanks.
 

Johnny-Canuck

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Just "bumping" in the hope that someone might see my post from a couple of days ago and have any suggestions ... or ... am I snookered in terms of suggestions for a "safe" way to replace the washer on this tap? Thanks.
 

hj

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1. You NEVER need to access the rear of a faucet to repair it.
2. The way you are going at it will be a definite way to ruin the faucet and THEN you will need access to replace it.
3. Put the packing nut BACK in place before you damage the piece in the wall.
4. Do NOT try to "back the stem" out of the faucet. That is what will destroy it.
5. AFTER you replace the packing nut, then unscrew that "larger" hex fitting. You will NOT break anything inside the wall.
6. You safest way to repair it may be to call a plumber who will have the tools AND parts to repair it, since a long time leak probably damaged the internal seats.
 

Jimbo

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The tile installer as usual wanted to be a little "too neat" and may not have left quite enough clearance to get the deep shower valve socket on the hex. It may be necessary to "worry away" a little tile. Hard to teach that on line. It is very doable, and there is always the risk of cracking a tile. Even that is not the end of the world. You fill the crack with clear epoxy and live with it. But if you are VERY careful with a sharp cold chisel and small hammer, you can chip away very small chips at a time until the hole is big enough. You can see that the flange covers over an inch all the way around, beyond the extent of the hole right now. You need somewhere around just 1/8" to 3/16" to clear the socket.
 

Johnny-Canuck

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Thanks very much hj and jimbo, for both of your comments. They help.

The reference to a "deep shower valve socket" (a tool I don't have) gives me a better idea of how a plumber would go about doing this.

One last question, can either of you give me an idea of what the shower valve body looks like behind the wall (i.e. the parts I can't see back there). I'd just like to have a better sense of what a plumber would be unscrewing the hex nut out of ... with a deep shower valve socket ... e.g. a schematic or picture from the web, that you think might be similar to the vintage of the valve body I'm looking at?

PS: I understand a plumber would be the best idea for this job, but when my Mom mentioned her drip problem to my Aunt, a plumber had given my Aunt an estimate of $1000 (lol) to repair her drip (basically break out the wall tile, install a new valve body, retile the wall area). It sounds to me like he simply didn't want to do the job.
 

hj

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quote; a plumber had given my Aunt an estimate of $1000 (lol) to repair her drip (basically break out the wall tile, install a new valve body, retile the wall area). It sounds to me like he simply didn't want to do the job.

He DID want to do the job, he just didn't want to do the job you needed. Call a "real" plumber, not a "con artist". Atound here, that repair should cost between $120 and $200. You do NOT have to know anything about what is in the wall, and that valve does NOT need a "deep socket". The hex that has to be unscrewed is OUTSIDE the wall, but the opening DOES have to be cleared so the piece can be pulled out.
 
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