DirtyNails
New Member
What a great forum! Here's hoping someone has successfully resolved a similar problem.
Pulled out both hot and cold shower faucet stem assemblies in the same fashion and with same amount of force. Both came out without problem. Went to hardware store with one in tow (carefully wrapped) and purchased new washers for both. Got home, removed old washers, carefully cleaned up the assemblies, put on new washers, regreased, and cleaned out the pipes from the shower valve assembly, making sure there was no debris in threads or at seat on either side.
Reinstalled the assembly that had originally come from the hot side (H) on the hot side. No problem. Went to reinstall the one that had originally come from the cold side (C). The leading threads would not even bite. Inspected the assembly. No visible thread damage, and, again, had had no problem while removing the assembly.
Removed H and tried to put C on the hot side (both assemblies are hot/cold, both have right-hand threading). Same problem. Tried to put H on the cold side. Bit and screwed in perfectly!
So: I can put H in either side without problem. This would tell me that the female threads in the pipes on both sides are ok. Yet, I can't get C to even bite, much less screw in on either side, no matter how gently and carefully I align it. And there is no visible damage to the leading threads of C.
Nonetheless, I managed to get to a local plumbing supply store about two minutes before they closed, both old assemblies in tow, and bought two new assemblies, thinking there must be damage to the threads in C that I can't pick up with a magnifying glass. Got them home, inspected them with Verniers against the old assemblies. Match. Yay! Prepped the new assemblies for installation. Neither will bite and screw in, regardless of side!
So: H will easily bite and install on either side. C will not bite and screw in on either side. Neither of the two new assemblies will bite and screw in on either side.
I have carefully inspected all assemblies and can find nothing particularly different among them, though the new assemblies have a small (at most 1mm) curved taper from the body of the outside of the assembly to the first thread that must bite the threads of the pipe. The older assemblies do not have such a taper, but they are identical to one another, and C's leading threads do not look any different or any more microscopically pitted/worn than those of H.
Has anyone else had a similar problem while reinstalling a stem assembly? I just need to get any one of the three recalcitrant assemblies into either side, because I know that H will fit on the remaining side.
Geez. What should have been a simple, one-hour job (including the initial run to the nearby hardware store for washers) is now up to 24 hours and counting.
Pulled out both hot and cold shower faucet stem assemblies in the same fashion and with same amount of force. Both came out without problem. Went to hardware store with one in tow (carefully wrapped) and purchased new washers for both. Got home, removed old washers, carefully cleaned up the assemblies, put on new washers, regreased, and cleaned out the pipes from the shower valve assembly, making sure there was no debris in threads or at seat on either side.
Reinstalled the assembly that had originally come from the hot side (H) on the hot side. No problem. Went to reinstall the one that had originally come from the cold side (C). The leading threads would not even bite. Inspected the assembly. No visible thread damage, and, again, had had no problem while removing the assembly.
Removed H and tried to put C on the hot side (both assemblies are hot/cold, both have right-hand threading). Same problem. Tried to put H on the cold side. Bit and screwed in perfectly!
So: I can put H in either side without problem. This would tell me that the female threads in the pipes on both sides are ok. Yet, I can't get C to even bite, much less screw in on either side, no matter how gently and carefully I align it. And there is no visible damage to the leading threads of C.
Nonetheless, I managed to get to a local plumbing supply store about two minutes before they closed, both old assemblies in tow, and bought two new assemblies, thinking there must be damage to the threads in C that I can't pick up with a magnifying glass. Got them home, inspected them with Verniers against the old assemblies. Match. Yay! Prepped the new assemblies for installation. Neither will bite and screw in, regardless of side!
So: H will easily bite and install on either side. C will not bite and screw in on either side. Neither of the two new assemblies will bite and screw in on either side.
I have carefully inspected all assemblies and can find nothing particularly different among them, though the new assemblies have a small (at most 1mm) curved taper from the body of the outside of the assembly to the first thread that must bite the threads of the pipe. The older assemblies do not have such a taper, but they are identical to one another, and C's leading threads do not look any different or any more microscopically pitted/worn than those of H.
Has anyone else had a similar problem while reinstalling a stem assembly? I just need to get any one of the three recalcitrant assemblies into either side, because I know that H will fit on the remaining side.
Geez. What should have been a simple, one-hour job (including the initial run to the nearby hardware store for washers) is now up to 24 hours and counting.