Jvstevens
Member
I am in the process of replacing both cartridges on a widespread vanity faucet made by Altmans. With much effort, I finally was able to unscrew the flange (or escutcheon?...not sure of the correct terminology here) on the cold side and replace the cartridge. I have not been able to unscrew the hot side flange, though. The flange is basically smooth & cone shaped, with a somewhat wide base and threads at the top. Its real tough to get a solid grip on it with your hands. I have squirted in both WD-40 and Liquid Wrench penetrating oil in through the top, and tapped it with a hammer several times over a period of two hours, but it still wouldn't budge. Usually, I give PB Blaster a try too, but my can was empty! I even took a pipe wrench wrapped with a rag to get it to budge, but it wouldn't go, and I put a small nick in the finish. So, I gave up on that idea as I didn't want to risk trashing the flange. I tried a rubber strap wrench, too, but it doesn't seem to be able to "grab" on to the cone shape...it just slips off. This was all done last Friday. I decided to flood the top of the threads with the Liquid Wrench and let it soak over the weekend. Hopefully, that will do the trick, when I try it again tomorrow.
If it still won't budge on Monday, what else can I try? As a last resort, I can probably loosen the nut under the vanity top so that the bottom of the flange separates from the countertop. Perhaps with a gap there, I can get a better grip on it with my hand and unscrew it. Or if that doesn't work, disconnect the two hoses and yank the whole dang thing out! That's gonna be a bit of a hassle as there is a lot of crap under the sink, and the nut is difficult to access. What do you guys do in these situations?
If it still won't budge on Monday, what else can I try? As a last resort, I can probably loosen the nut under the vanity top so that the bottom of the flange separates from the countertop. Perhaps with a gap there, I can get a better grip on it with my hand and unscrew it. Or if that doesn't work, disconnect the two hoses and yank the whole dang thing out! That's gonna be a bit of a hassle as there is a lot of crap under the sink, and the nut is difficult to access. What do you guys do in these situations?