Fiberglass tub leaking near (not at) drain

[BJ Scharf]

Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We have a 60+ year old house and an awesome little boy that hit $1/2 million of medical expenses before 2. So we have been getting good at DIY fixes, but this one has us stumped. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

The bottom of our tub appears to be black fiberglass. There is a white PVC pipe connected to the drain. The old drain was a bit rusty, so I replaced it about 5 years ago. I used a drain wrench and plumbers putty. All was good, until now. It started to drip not from the actual drain but from the edge of the grayish plastic part around the white PVC pipe. The pipe and pipe's connection are dry. The drip slowed and stopped before all the water was out of the tub. The overflow was not used and was dry. I am used to tub drains dripping from the pipe at the bottom, but this is different--I think?

I can try new putty and tightening it, but is this a sign of something else? I also don't want to over-tighten if that is not the solution.

I can try to caulk/jbweld/etc where the moisture comes from, but will that just cover up the problem (and/or make it worse).

What is the gray part even called? It is replaceable?
I have tried to upload a picture since my plumbing vocabulary is not very good. Thanks again!

 

[WorthFlorida]

Looks like fresh plumbers putty under the flange is needed. You are right about being carful not to over tighten it.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Breplum]

There are two types of plumbers putty. The oil based should NOT be used on fiberglass. Use the stain-free premium product.
If that still leaks, then you have a defective tub.
Of course, the black "gasket" washer belongs touching the "drain elbow" aka drain shoe, not on the top side of tub.

 

[Dj2]

I would take the drain apart, inspect the gasket and install new putty.

 

[OhioHome]

I have found on my 1970s tub/shower combo that water is weeping into the fiberglass itself through the white surface. Toward the end of a shower a couple of spots would suddenly have water dripping slowly on the outside (in the wall) of the fiberglass tub.
I've resorted to trying clear FlexiSeal to spray that entire inside wall where the drips appear. Waiting for it to fully dry (48 hours) before using the shower.
A friend said that sailboats in that era had trouble with water soaking into the fiberglass. He suggested the Flexiseal. (No, I don't own stock in that, it's just available at hardware stores.)

 

[Jeff H Young]

I'd re-putty it with out any flex seal with compatible putty as suggested by breplum

 

[Terry]

Sometimes it's a bad rubber seal between the tub and drain assembly.

 

[Jeff H Young]

if not puttyied properly and the fiberglass is delaminated or somehow porous , I think it could weep