LarryLeveen
Member
Changing the drain and pop-up for a bathroom sink. Whoa, the hole in the bottom of the sink is not round, but rather OVAL in shape (good grief, can NOTHING be simple in this house?!). The seal from the old drain clearly shows that it has been mated (under the pressure of a locknut) into a non-round hole. The new conical seal seems like it will get pushed through this non-round hole when the new locknut is tightened.
I decided to clean and re-use the old seal, though I added plumbers putty around it to try and give it a fighting chance at reestablishing a seal below the sink. After installing everything and testing the overflow, I could see water leaking between the locknut and drain threads. Should I have applied teflon tape (or pipe dope) to those threads? Regardless, it seems as though the old seal isn't seating properly -- probably not sealing against the drain threads. One more complicating factor: there was a SECOND SEAL (thinner, with a larger outer diameter) somewhere above the locknut. I forgot to note where it was, but I'd guess above the ovalized seal (to help make things water tight). I didn't reuse this second seal, not realizing its purpose. Maybe I should have included it....
Thoughts? Advice? Help greatly appreciated. I'm kinda stumped.
BTW, I got the replacement drain directly from Delta after giving them the part number on the owners/install manual. It might not be a big deal but thought I'd mention that the old drain was metal and the new one is plastic, and the new flange that goes inside/atop the basin is a smaller outside diameter than the old one (though it seems to work OK with plumbers putty).
I decided to clean and re-use the old seal, though I added plumbers putty around it to try and give it a fighting chance at reestablishing a seal below the sink. After installing everything and testing the overflow, I could see water leaking between the locknut and drain threads. Should I have applied teflon tape (or pipe dope) to those threads? Regardless, it seems as though the old seal isn't seating properly -- probably not sealing against the drain threads. One more complicating factor: there was a SECOND SEAL (thinner, with a larger outer diameter) somewhere above the locknut. I forgot to note where it was, but I'd guess above the ovalized seal (to help make things water tight). I didn't reuse this second seal, not realizing its purpose. Maybe I should have included it....
Thoughts? Advice? Help greatly appreciated. I'm kinda stumped.
BTW, I got the replacement drain directly from Delta after giving them the part number on the owners/install manual. It might not be a big deal but thought I'd mention that the old drain was metal and the new one is plastic, and the new flange that goes inside/atop the basin is a smaller outside diameter than the old one (though it seems to work OK with plumbers putty).