Old Brass overflow drain with locking nubs, how to stop leaks?

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Bigealta

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I've searched everywhere but can't find anything. My Overflow drain is dripping on the finished ceiling below. I have no access to this other than from the tub. I really just want it sealed. I dont need the overflow as it's just my wife and i and we only use it for showers. I was looking ito the bluvue pieces but the nubs on the tub side would not allow for a good seal. Can i unscrew this piece? or is that too risky? i definitely do not want to break this. I just need to stop it from leaking. Shower water is getting behind the coverplate and the old what looks like putty used for the seal is cracked. See the pics. Any help here is greatly appreciated! Thanks Eric

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Bigealta

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And here is the wide view. Thanks again for any advise.

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Breplum

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Waste and overflows with slip joint fittings in modern codes, are required to have an access panel.
I'd recommend such and rebuild...
WorthFlorida's reco is likely to work, though.
 

Bigealta

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Thanks guys, I'll also caulk top of cover plate and the hole on top of it which i assume was for an old stopper linkage. I was also thinking of cutting a piece of flat washer material to fit around the brass "locking piece" and held tight by the cover plate.
 

Bigealta

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I made the mistake of "assuming" that any water that gets under the cover plate did not matter because it would just go down the overflow. I didn't think about that seal being a failure point.
 

WorthFlorida

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I made the mistake of "assuming" that any water that gets under the cover plate did not matter because it would just go down the overflow. I didn't think about that seal being a failure point.
There is a possibility that the overflow pipe or the drain itself has corroded and I suspect the drain is the source. It takes a lot of water to get around all that old sealant and overflow and only using the tub for showers, I'm suspecting it is the drain itself. Obviously water does not flow uphill into the overflow.

Fill the tub with a substantial amount if water with a stopper. Then let it drain slowly and keep an eye on the ceiling below. A more common point of failure is the plumbers putty under the drain flange or the gasket between the drain elbow (shoe) and tub. Plumbers putty hardens and breaks up after a few decades. The black gasket at the overflow shown in the picture is behind the tub wall. Yours is slightly different.

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Jeff H Young

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my first thought was immediately this question. how did you determine the cause of the leak ? it can't be a tub spout, nipple, shower head piping, or the tee on waste and overflow or shoe?
put some duct tape over the overflow take a nice long shower then if it goes away you might be on to the cause.
Don't get me wrong overflow gasket is a very common source , and just some good silicone might fix it , without even removing
 

WorthFlorida

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If you have galvanized drain pipe, the tub trap when they leak is from corrosion at the bottom of the trap. It may be just be a pin hole.
 

Jeff H Young

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Keep it simple. the tape over hole will let you know I would not open walls or ceiling to inspect possible sources unless the damage requires it, and I exhausted non damaging fixes
 

Bigealta

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The bathroom below this tub was gutted about 15 years ago. They did replace the drain flange and put fresh putty it in at that time. The good news, I guess, is that the dripping made a hoke in the ceiling so I will cut the water damaged sheetrock out and will then be able to get a good look as what's going on. Thanks for everyone's help. Will get back when I cut the rock out.

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Bigealta

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Update. After checking shower head arm connection in wall cavity (which was dry), Replacing old dripping shower head with new one that does not drip down onto handle and tub spout, removing Moen Chateau handle and face plates to clean and inspect (no water marks behind plate or on mixing valve), removing tub spout and recaulking copper pipe thru the tile, reinstalling cleaned tub spout and caulking top of tub spout to tile, recaulking overflow flange and caulked its cover plate as well as the hole it had on the top of it. There now seem to be no signs of drips or leaks. I'll fix the small original hole in ceiling below now that the slow drip/ceiling staining seems to be fixed. Thanks everyone for your help!
 
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