water spraying out from behind shower hot and cold handles

[brummy]

Water leaking out from behind the hot and cold handles of my shower has evolved into a steady stream of water. Any suggestions? I removed the stems and the washers appear intact. I was going to repalce them anyway but seem to have a hard time finding exact replacements. Also put on some packing thread which abated the problem temporarily. Any advice would be appreciated - keep in mind I'm not a pro (or even particularly handy) so detailed advice would be best. Thank you.

 

[Plumber1]

You have a warn o-ring on the stem as a stem seal or you need to add packing to the packing gland.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Verdeboy]

Tighten down on the packing nut as best you can. Use a socket and a channel locks. You can also buy plumber's sockets for a few bucks -- sometimes called "cow bells."

There may also be another, larger seal that is broken or missing. Sometimes it's rubber and sometimes it's nylon. Try to locate replacement valve stems and see what the new ones look like to see if you're missing a seal.

If all else fails, just replace the valve stems that are leaking.

 

[mn_nobody]

take care not to strip the packing nut, it is very mallable metal. i suggest using a 4inch crescent wrench in lieu of a channel locks... just my .02