Problem reinstalling shower faucet stem assembly - LONG

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DirtyNails

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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! :mad:

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. :confused:

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.

:confused:

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.
 

DirtyNails

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Did that. H works either way on either side. C and new assemblies don't work, stem in or out. Again, the leading threads of C and new assemblies won't even bite so they can be screwed in. Leading threads of H bite readily and it screws in all the way on both sides without struggle.
 

Jadnashua

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Will the cold stem fit into the hot side? If so, just swap them!
 

DirtyNails

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No. Tried that already.

But I just learned something new. I took one of the new stems out of its outer housing and tried to screw in just the outer housing. Bingo. Put the old H stem inside the new housing and, once again, the new housing bit and screwed in. Then took the new stem and placed it in the old H assembly housing (which I know will screw in from previous efforts). It would not bite. Aha! Very careful measurement of the OD of both stem ends reveals that the new ones are just a hair larger than the old ones! :mad:

I'm going to see if I can finally get the handle off the C assembly so I can pull its stem and place inside the other new housing. Unfortunately, the handle is somewhat corroded onto the broach. :(

I'll post back shortly if this turns out to be the solution....
 

DirtyNails

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Problem solved! Yay!

Took a while to get the handle off of the old C assembly. It was quite attached to the broach after so many years together. :D Thank goodness for rubber mallets and wooden deck rails.

Turning my attention to the assemblies, I was having difficulty truly believing that the new stems would simply not fit. Though I had tried and tried to install them repeatedly since yesterday around lunchtime, the efforts were in vain, and I was becoming increasingly frustrated at what seemed to be a very illogical situation. The lead threads on the new housings just wouldn't bite, regardless of whether the stem was extended or retracted, and yet the old H worked in both sides. :confused:

After finding out earlier that the housings of the new assemblies by themselves would screw in, I decided to try the stems by themselves, comparing how far they would go in to how far the old H stem would go in. And...without their housings, they each went in easily, stopped just at the seat, and with a slight push, entered the seat, going in just as far in as the old H stem!

I decided to go ahead and put a completely new stem assembly in both sides. Got them all prepped again, recleaned the pipes, and...simply installed them, first putting in the stems, then slipping the housings over each and screwing them in until they bit, then backing the stems out, and finally screwing the housings in 'til they were both finger tight. At that point, I tightened each with the wrench, then put on the escutcheons, sleeves, and handles.

Made sure both were off, turned on the house supply, and tested first one then the other. Nice flow, easy off without having to crank down, and best of all, no more drip from the showerhead! Yay!

Watched around the escutcheons which I had not yet caulked (and which had remained dry due to the angle of the showerhead), and saw no leaks. Wall was dry as a bone around them. Have gone back several times to on/off and otherwise check for leaks. None. If there are none by morning, I'll go ahead and caulk and call it done.

Thank you, Terry and jadnashua, for your replies! Though I'd already tried your suggestions, I really appreciate that you both took time to read about my problem and tried to help.

And thank you, Terry, for an incredible forum. I will definitely be back as I tackle some other long-overdue plumbing projects. Going to pass this site along to some friends of mine, too.

Hope you had a great birthday and did something fun today! :)
 
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