Drain Shoe not Parallel to Tub bottom

[Z_Tibard]

Thank you all for the wealth of experience and advice on this forum. I have learned a lot from reading through past posts, but haven't found an answer to my current problem (which is really 2 separate questions for you).

1940's house, plumbing from who knows when. I had a leaking tub drain so I went to replace the overflow & shoe gaskets and putty around the flange, which despite trying all the tricks I could find (heat gun, wd40 soaking, etc.) and snapping a drain wrench in two, I finally decided to cut it out with a dremel cutoff wheel. I thought I was being careful, but still managed to cut into the enamel in a few places (see gouges in pic 1). So the first issue is: will I ever get a good seal with putty over gouges like this or is there another way I should seal them (or just re-enamel the tub, which honestly could use it anyway).

Second issue: The previous shoe gasket was just a bit of rubber crumbles. I was able to get the new gasket in by applying a bit of pressure to the shoe from the access panel and thought I was in good shape. The only problem is, the shoe and tub bottom don't seem to be parallel with the gasket in - the gasket is clamped tight on the side of the shoe nearest the trap connection and very loose on the other side (no seal whatsoever, even with the flange tightened down). See pic 2 from under the tub (best angle/light I could manage with one hand).

I saw in another post Terry had pointed out the importance of cleaning the shoe/tub bottom to get a good seal, which I could certainly try to do. But I think even if I did that the angle would still prevent a good seal unless I used a tapered rubber washer, which seems like a bad idea. So I'm at a loss of what to do in this case and welcome any suggestions!

 

[Jeff H Young]

at this point all you can do is try... assuming its tight in there a hack saw blade may help in cleaning tub and shoe. remove screws on over flow allowing the shoe to float some as you tighten drain allowing hopefully them to mate more evenly. there is no tapered washer for this and judging by the gap your drain must not have fall on it. You might try a dry run and see if it flexes as tightening. unfortuanatly a thicker washer or doubling up worsen the situation.
Lastly putty or silicone, Im torn on that but Im going with putty. clean threads good too possibly put dope and super tight

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dj2]

The shoe must be parallel to the tub opening, if it's not, rotate it a little bit.
If your drain assemble is very old, why don't you replace it now when everything is within reach?

 

[Jeff H Young]

The shoe must be parallel to the tub opening, if it's not, rotate it a little bit.
If your drain assemble is very old, why don't you replace it now when everything is within reach?

OP was not having a proplem with the way the shoe was pointing, but problem was at bottom where it didnt go flat . the way I understood it. Sometimes acess to tub to change waste and overflow requires opening walls or cieling. it seems he was just wanting to repair a leak. I havent re read his post but that was how I understood it.