Johnny Rocksit
New Member
Hi. I'm a f irst-time poster, long time idiot.
I have a pair of Moen 3570 Moentrol valves in a dual-head shower in a bathroom that I demo'd to the studs about 8 or 9 years ago.
(Yes, it's been almost a decade since the house has had a functioning master bath, but I digress.)
Neither valve is functional. When I backed off the shutoffs on the first valve and pulled the pin to open the valve, nothing happened. When I tried to crank the shutoff back to closed, bits of o-ring came out past the screw. That was when I knew all of the components were toast.
(Amateur-Tip: If you are "plumbing" on a Friday night and your Moentrol shut off is spewing water all over not-yet dry tile grout, turn off water to the house. At this point, your wife may threaten to spend the weekend at an expensive hotel, call the on-call weekend plumber at $225/hr, or both. Do not panic: Get an 11/16 socket and remove the leaking shutoff, being careful not to drop the bits in the wall. Wrap the old o-ring, or spot where the o-ring was, with Teflon tape. I also put a wrap around the rubber stopper for good measure. with one hand under the valve to catch the bits that you will drop the first couple of times you try this, hold the tension on the spring with your finger while jamming the little bastard back into the valve body with your thumb. When it miraculously all lines up, tighten the shutoff with the 11/16 socket, then crank the screw clockwise. Turn the water on and hold your breath. If you are lucky, it holds and you just saved at least $600.)
I purchased replacement cartridges, balancers (those were totally stuck, one came out in pieces), shutoff valves. and the T handle cartridge puller. I replaced the balancers and the shutoffs. I was feeling good. Cocky, even.
Then I tried to install the first cartridge.
What I didn't do: I did not clean out the valve body. I forgot to grease the damn thing, and the water was shut off only at the valve.
What I did do: The cartridge did not go in all the way, so I tapped with it a hammer to try to seat it. This is one of those things where I knew it was a bad idea as I was doing it and I did it, anyway. When I tried to pull it out, I found it is now stuck in some unnatural way, to the point where, pulling with all my might, with a foot against the wall, I cannot get it out.
I can push it back in about 1 1/2", then yank it and it hits whatever is preventing it from sliding out.
At this point, the new cartridge is getting mangled and I don't care. I need it out.
Any suggestions?
I have a pair of Moen 3570 Moentrol valves in a dual-head shower in a bathroom that I demo'd to the studs about 8 or 9 years ago.
(Yes, it's been almost a decade since the house has had a functioning master bath, but I digress.)
Neither valve is functional. When I backed off the shutoffs on the first valve and pulled the pin to open the valve, nothing happened. When I tried to crank the shutoff back to closed, bits of o-ring came out past the screw. That was when I knew all of the components were toast.
(Amateur-Tip: If you are "plumbing" on a Friday night and your Moentrol shut off is spewing water all over not-yet dry tile grout, turn off water to the house. At this point, your wife may threaten to spend the weekend at an expensive hotel, call the on-call weekend plumber at $225/hr, or both. Do not panic: Get an 11/16 socket and remove the leaking shutoff, being careful not to drop the bits in the wall. Wrap the old o-ring, or spot where the o-ring was, with Teflon tape. I also put a wrap around the rubber stopper for good measure. with one hand under the valve to catch the bits that you will drop the first couple of times you try this, hold the tension on the spring with your finger while jamming the little bastard back into the valve body with your thumb. When it miraculously all lines up, tighten the shutoff with the 11/16 socket, then crank the screw clockwise. Turn the water on and hold your breath. If you are lucky, it holds and you just saved at least $600.)
I purchased replacement cartridges, balancers (those were totally stuck, one came out in pieces), shutoff valves. and the T handle cartridge puller. I replaced the balancers and the shutoffs. I was feeling good. Cocky, even.
Then I tried to install the first cartridge.
What I didn't do: I did not clean out the valve body. I forgot to grease the damn thing, and the water was shut off only at the valve.
What I did do: The cartridge did not go in all the way, so I tapped with it a hammer to try to seat it. This is one of those things where I knew it was a bad idea as I was doing it and I did it, anyway. When I tried to pull it out, I found it is now stuck in some unnatural way, to the point where, pulling with all my might, with a foot against the wall, I cannot get it out.
I can push it back in about 1 1/2", then yank it and it hits whatever is preventing it from sliding out.
At this point, the new cartridge is getting mangled and I don't care. I need it out.
Any suggestions?
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