Delta. Broken plastic shower valve inside valve body

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Rudy Michaud

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Thought I was getting into a 10 minute job repairing a leaking bath faucet. First dealt with a stuck allen screw on the handle and now the plastic valve is stuck. I tried removing it with a pair of locking pliers but the plastic broke away. Any tips on removing the stuck piece?
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Rudy Michaud

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Any specific tool you would recommend? I don't have anything that can get into wedge around the piece to grasp or turn it.
 

MKS

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Needle nose pliers likely. Using care to not scratch the the brass surface.
 

Rudy Michaud

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Tried using my needle nose to work it back and forth to come out; they broke... the plastic piece is seriously wedged in there. Would taking a blow torch to the side of the pipe to expand the metal possibly work?
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MKS

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Get a better pair of pliers.
Putting flames in a confined space may result in a call to the fire department.
 

Rudy Michaud

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I will be heading to home depot in the morning. I just worry that another pair of needle nose isn't going to solve the problem.
 

MKS

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Channellock at a minimum.
Terry has had metric ton of experience.
 

Rudy Michaud

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I was thinking maybe a pair of long nose locking pliers would work, to get a good grip, but I think they may be to thick to get in around the plastic piece.
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Rudy Michaud

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Unfortunately the plastic was stuck well enough that while turning it back and forth to try and get it out, the entire brass bell came off. I have a plumber on the way to fix it now. I feel like I should have just taken a blow torch to it till all the plastic was melted away... thanks for the help though.
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Terry

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How about pictures of the new install including the valve before the trim?

Here is my replacement of a broken Delta valve like yours.

tl2368ep_repair_2.jpg


tl2368ep_repair_5.jpg


Moen Posi-Temp with TL2368EP trim.
 
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Rudy Michaud

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Plumber won't be here till tomorrow, luckily this was in the guest bathroom so no big rush. I'll see if I can get a few pictures of the process don't want to stand over the plumbers shoulder too much while he's working.
 

Rudy Michaud

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Everything seems to be working perfectly. I was also a bit disappointed in the method they chose to repair the valve but since its working and hidden its not to big a deal. Thanks for the help.
 

Michael Young

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Thought I was getting into a 10 minute job repairing a leaking bath faucet. First dealt with a stuck allen screw on the handle and now the plastic valve is stuck. I tried removing it with a pair of locking pliers but the plastic broke away. Any tips on removing the stuck piece?
View attachment 47389 View attachment 47390

Looks like I'm too late.

But for general sharing of techniques, I've had this happen more than once. I use a dremel and carefully cut away pieces of the old cartridge. I find using a dremel and a small pick (bent tip ice pick) allows you to carefully cut and pick until the valve body is clear again.
 

tireflat

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I had to carefully chip the plastic from the body with a small screwdriver so that eventually, I could remove the inner body and the remaining plastic shell. Delta blames this problem on hard water.
 
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