srdstm
New Member
I've had an extremely frustrating shower valve leak that I have not been able to repair. The house is a 1969 house with no access to pipes behind the tile; I installed cutoffs on the hot/cold water lines in the basement just to be able to work on this shower. The compression valves are sayco, and I've repaired and/or replaced valves and valve seats for the main tub - hot, cold, and diverter, as well as the hot valve for the shower with no problems. However the Cold faucet for the shower continues to leak persistently, even after multiple new valve seats, multiple new valve assemblies, and multiple re-checks of my work.
This particular stem was extremely difficult to get out originally, and the old valve seat was almost entirely encrusted with green mineral buildup. I used white vinegar to try to clear the additional mineral buildup out of the threads. When I look in there, I cannot see any visible damage to the seat threads or any buildup. I've even attempted using teflon tape or pipe dope to see if I could get a better seal on the valve seat. I've been very careful to not cause cross-threading when installing valve seats.
In every single case - whether I rebuild the old valve assembly or install a new one (as I've done in the other three installs) the leak is an almost unbroken stream of drips from the shower head that actually seems to get slightly worse if I try to tighten the valve too far. I've tried multiple new washers, and thicker washers. It looks like the new washers I put on are meeting the valve seat correctly, because I can see the impression and it looks good when I take it all apart again. There has never been any change in the end result so I have reached the conclusion that there is something else going on that I cannot fix by replacing the valve stem and the valve seat.
What could be causing this? I had assumed that some sort of crack in the pipe itself would cause a leak behind the wall that would be detectable in the basement. Reaching my wits end and would really like my shower back.
This particular stem was extremely difficult to get out originally, and the old valve seat was almost entirely encrusted with green mineral buildup. I used white vinegar to try to clear the additional mineral buildup out of the threads. When I look in there, I cannot see any visible damage to the seat threads or any buildup. I've even attempted using teflon tape or pipe dope to see if I could get a better seal on the valve seat. I've been very careful to not cause cross-threading when installing valve seats.
In every single case - whether I rebuild the old valve assembly or install a new one (as I've done in the other three installs) the leak is an almost unbroken stream of drips from the shower head that actually seems to get slightly worse if I try to tighten the valve too far. I've tried multiple new washers, and thicker washers. It looks like the new washers I put on are meeting the valve seat correctly, because I can see the impression and it looks good when I take it all apart again. There has never been any change in the end result so I have reached the conclusion that there is something else going on that I cannot fix by replacing the valve stem and the valve seat.
What could be causing this? I had assumed that some sort of crack in the pipe itself would cause a leak behind the wall that would be detectable in the basement. Reaching my wits end and would really like my shower back.
