Help removing a brass shower drain

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BigEdgar

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Hi,

I have a fiberglass shower unit that has a brass drain. The shower unit is set on a concrete pad, so there is no access to the underside of the unit without tearing the whole shower unit apart. The drain is leaking (I see water seeping into an adjacent room after the shower runs). As a temporary fix, I surrounded the edge of the brass drain where it meets the fiberglass pan with a bunch of plumbers putty and this has solved the leak, so I suspect the gasket that sits between the fiberglass pan and the drain needs to be replaced. My question is: how the heck do I remove this drain to replace the gasket? The house was built in the late 1980s and it's possible that the drain is original to the house.

Here's a picture of the drain:
shower-drain-edgar.jpg


I've tried hammering on the brass teeth shown in the photo to get the drain to turn, but no dice there - it's stuck fast. Any ideas on how to get this out, short of using a sawzall / hacksaw to cut the drain out?

Thanks!
 
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hj

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Normally, you have to loosen it from the BOTTOM of the stall, not the top. And, after you destroy it with a Sawzall, you will still have the underneath portion to deal with. In other words, you are probably screwed.
 

FullySprinklered

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Stop hammering.

I can see the cut end of the abs pipe. That means it is sealed to the pipe with a rubber sleeve and compression ring. There's a lot of caulk all in there, so I'm assuming there have been several attempts to stop the leakage heretofore.

Clean all that caulk out and get a good look at the area immediately around the black pipe and see what you've got.

Best case scenario would be to replace, reinstall, refurbish what you have while leaving the brass body in place. Mess with that and you've got negative karma galore.

Could be as simple as buying a new compression type drain, and robbing the needed parts from it.
 

BigEdgar

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Wow - thanks for the ideas and insight, everyone!

Fullysprinklered - yes, there are notches on the brass ring. From what you can see, do you think this model is similar to the one I have (likely having the outer locknut, which will be hard to access)? If so, is there anything I can do to take this apart and retrofit with new gaskets without removing the outer locknut? If not, then it sounds like my only option may be something like the Wingtite system that johnjh2o1 posted above (BTW, that Wingtite video is awesome - really well done for an installation video!!).
 

hj

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The notches are the ring that screws in to compress the rubber ring. It has nothing to do with removing the drain. To use the wingtite drain, you still have to get the old one out of the shower and that means you STILL HAVE TO GET TO THE LOCKNUT ON THE BOTTOM.
 

JohnjH2o1

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The notches are the ring that screws in to compress the rubber ring. It has nothing to do with removing the drain. To use the wingtite drain, you still have to get the old one out of the shower and that means you STILL HAVE TO GET TO THE LOCKNUT ON THE BOTTOM.
Not if you cut it out. I have done it but like I said it takes time .
 

Terry

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BigEdgar

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Ok, thanks alot everyone. Without having access to the underside of the shower, it looks like my only option is to destroy the existing drain and install something like the Wingtite. I appreciate all of the help!!
 

FullySprinklered

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For a few bucks you can try borrowing parts from a new Oatey or the other one with an Indian name that I obviously can't spell.

That being said, the Wing-tite looks like a quality, well thought out product that could do it for you.

They're only going to sell fifty of them this year, bless their hearts, so they could probably use the help.
 

BigEdgar

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Hi everyone, attempting to resurrect this as I've made some progress, but am stuck again. If you'll recall, I've got a leaky shower drain and the underside of the shower pan is a concrete pad, so there's no easy way to get to the underside of the drain. I was able to remove a wall and get access to the underside of the shower drain, but access to the drain is really tight (maybe 1.5 inches of clearance, enough to get to the drain with a long screwdriver, but not with my hand).

Anyways, I was able to use a long screwdriver, a hammer and a bunch of elbow grease to get the underside brass compression ring off. However, now that I've managed to remove the compression ring from the underside, I'm at a loss for how to get the rest of the drain out so it can be replaced.

Here are some pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/0Rq6L

I figured the next step would be to remove the compression ring on the top of the drain using the little tool that fits between the teeth on the ring (last photo in the set of images linked above), but I can't get that ring to budge. Any ideas on what to do from here?

Thanks!
 

MNshowerdude2

not to be confused with showerdude, im showerdude2
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ditch the "Little tool" and use a couple of long flathead screwdrivers, cross em on each other like an X as you insert each flat head into the slots that "little tool" sits in........ and prove to us all you actually are 'Big Edger" the kinda big edgar that is tougher than a brass drain.

If you find you need more tools get busy with sawzall and a fine tooth midget blade and channel youre inner brain surgeon on the pans flange........id have been resting in my teepee already
 
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BigEdgar

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Thanks, Showerdude. So if I'm reading your comments correctly, you're saying that the compression ring / flange thingy with the teeth that sits on the topside of the shower drain *should rotate*, and that I'm not providing enough force to do so. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, maybe I'll try some WD40 and see if that helps to loosen things up. I took a hammer to the teeth to attempt to get the ring to rotate, but with no luck, so it's pretty stuck.
 

BigEdgar

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Anyone else have any thoughts on how else I might be able to get this topside compression ring off (or otherwise remove the rest of the drain)? If it was plastic, I'd just go ahead and start cutting. But with brass, I'm afraid the cutting would get alot more messy.

Thanks!
 

MNshowerdude2

not to be confused with showerdude, im showerdude2
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Did you understand my point about using 2 screwdrivers in a crisscross to gain leverage and try that? I realize you are a tad scared of a sawzall, but really its not so hard to remove that drain by cutting the top flange very carefully and brass is preety soft.. I dont see any other Magic options. Even HJ gave up on you, but hes grumpy at times and quits to quick ...:):)

Im thinking Terry should just stop by your jobsite and save the day while posting about it on his own forum. A win win.?

If my screwdriver comment lost you take a peak here

 
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BigEdgar

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Now that I see the video of the cris-crossed screwdrivers, I can say that no, I didn't understand what you meant (but I do now - neat trick!). I'll be back at the house this weekend and will give the crossed screwdrivers a try.

Thanks!
 
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