Moen Faucet Removal

[Kiko]

I've got an old Moen single handle faucet that is single-hole mounted using a deck ring assembly. It has been leaking forever, and I can't remove the nut that connects the sprayer to even get at the mounting nut, because it is corroded so badly. I assume that the mounting nut is just as corroded, and it is buried inside the mounting bracket. This mounting nut would be difficult to get to with a wrench, let alone a grinder or a dremel. I also tried to remove the handle and the spout from the top, but the handle is fused on. Did I mention that the sink is so high up that you have to really strain just to reach the mounting nut, which makes it even a bigger pain.

How would you guys proceed?

 

[Terry]

You could use a deep socket.
Or you can also drill out the nut.

This nut has been drilled out.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jimbo]

Plumbers deal with ALL the issues you mention, every day!

If the faucet was installed correctly, the nut would not be "buried" inside the ring. Nonetheless, the tools of the trade for this are WD40, hacksaw, and Dremel

 

[hj]

First I bend and break off the two water lines to get them out of the way, then I use whatever kind of wrench I need to finish the removal. If we had a picture of yours, we might be able to make a recommendation. Usually a basin wrench, or the proper sized open end wrench, will disconnect the spray hose.

 

[Kiko]

I can get at the nut which connects the sprayer hose with a wrench, but it is so corroded, the wrench won't grip it. I can try using a vice grips or cutting off the sprayer line and putting a socket on it per Terry's advice. I can then try using a deep socket with a breaker bar to try to loosen the buried nut. I can even try spraying it with wd-40 or PB Blaster, first.

My question is: What should I do if I still can't break loose that nut? Can I grind off the faucet from the top as close to the sink as possible and have the lower part just fall away? Drilling out that nut seems like a very long and difficult process. There's definitely no room for a dremel or a hacksaw.

Jimbo, that U-shaped mounting bracket is completely hollow, which is why the mounting nut is "buried" deep inside it. Here is a picture of how it should have been installed:

 

[LLigetfa]

The first thing I would do is to clear women and children out of the house because working in such tight confines invariably results in the uttering of curse words. If you can fit in bolt cutters, that could be used to split the nut.

 

[Kiko]

To get a pair of bolt cutters that large under that faucet would require the removal of the garbage disposal and a lot of the drain. But you couldn't get at it anyway, because the nut is buried below the surface in that #!!#@!! hollow mounting bracket.

 

[LLigetfa]

OK, attacking it from the top may be your only recourse. Use a good metal cutting blade in a Sawzall and cut it as close to the sink as you dare. Then you should be able to drill away at what's left until it drops out the bottom. You could try an angle grinder but I suspect there will be brass there and it may tend to clog up the stone.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

I use a pnumatic cut-off tool for stuff like this on a regular basis. I would not cut anything from above if I could avoid it as the risk of surrounding damage is much greater.

 

[Kiko]

OK, attacking it from the top may be your only recourse. Use a good metal cutting blade in a Sawzall and cut it as close to the sink as you dare. Then you should be able to drill away at what's left until it drops out the bottom. You could try an angle grinder but I suspect there will be brass there and it may tend to clog up the stone.

I've got a flush-cut adapter for my sawzall. If I can protect the top of that sink, I might give it a go.

 

[Kiko]

I use a pnumatic cut-off tool for stuff like this on a regular basis. I would not cut anything from above if I could avoid it as the risk of surrounding damage is much greater.

That looks like a grinder to me. No room to use that beast underneath, unless I grind down the mounting bracket, too.

 

[LLigetfa]

That looks like a grinder to me. No room to use that beast underneath, unless I grind down the mounting bracket, too.

I was going to suggest grinding the bracket from underneath but you said there wasn't room for a Dremel, let alone a big tool like that or a mini angle grinder so I went back and deleted the suggestion.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

That looks like a grinder to me. No room to use that beast underneath, unless I grind down the mounting bracket, too.

It is a cut-off tool. The wheel is 3"x1/16". Wear the wheel down to 2" and it fits anywhere I have ever needed it to.

(I take the guard off)

 

[Terry]

This thread is hilarious.
We remove stuff like that all the time.

No, we don't have bolts cutters, Dremel Tools, chain saws, or any monster trucks.
The guy from Canada, that wants to take a back hoe to your sink from the top, why not bring in a road grader and scrap the faucet right off the top of the cabinet. Then you can take out the side of the house while you are at it and add a breakfast nook.



Things we do:

hj mentions bending off the copper tubes. Yes, I thought that was so obvious I didn't even mention it, but since the faucet is being trashed, get rid of anything you need to to get at the nut.

The fitting comes the way it does for different sink thicknesses. Sometimes with a thick sink, you flip the fitting that way. Think how this was installed in the first place. If you need to pull the hose off, then perhaps pliers or a small basin wrench.
Jimbo mentions a hacksaw. Hacksaws are pretty handy at times. You can leave the blade in the holder, and you can remove it from the holder if needed. I make sure I'm wearing gloves if I'm using the blade by hand.
Do not use a sawzall unless you are also trashing the sink. But then if you "were" trashing the sink, there would be no reason to remove the faucet.
They also make bits that drill out the entire nut, or you can take a 1/4" bit and drill a few times until the nut can slip off.
Now you know why a simple faucet replacement is not always that simple. Before you install the new one, the old one must go, and sometimes they just don't wanna go.

 

[LLigetfa]

The guy from Canada, that wants to take a back hoe to your sink from the top, why not bring in a road grader and scrap the faucet right off the top of the cabinet. Then you can take out the side of the house while you are at it and add a breakfast nook.
...
Do not use a sawzall unless you are also trashing the sink. But then if you "were" trashing the sink, there would be no reason to remove the faucet.

Nice exaggeration.
Even if he were trashing the sink, he might want to save the countertop but then why stop there? Make it into a breakfast nook and move the kitchen to the new addition.

 

[Kiko]

This thread is hilarious.
We remove stuff like that all the time.

I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row before starting this, because I would be a "dead duck" if I left the wife with no kitchen faucet for a day or more.

 

[hj]

This post is why I always tell the customer that installing the new faucet is easy. Getting the old one out may be what costs the money.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

One might also consider the idea of replacing the sink. The footprint from the old faucet usually ends up showing if you are installing a different style faucet. Then every time you use the sink you see that footprint and wish you had a new sink.

 

[LLigetfa]

Ja, but that's why they make renovation escutcheons. One time I made my own from the bottom of a stainless steel measuring cup. If you replace the sink, the footprint might be different from the old one and then you wished you would have changed out the countertop.

 

[Geniescience]

call Moen and talk to them. You might get a new working faucet out of it, kiko. Lifetime warranty.