Shower leaking behind wall after washer replacement

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RoyBarton

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The washer on my hot water stem broke. This is something that happens every few months. Rather than going through the trouble of replacing the stem, I've always just replaced to washer and forgot about it until it breaks again. However this time, when I turn the water on, there's dripping behind the wall from the stem. I've tried 3 different washers, and making sure the threads are properly aligned. Nothing has changed from any other time this has happened.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this dripping and how to stop it?
 

Terry

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Normally I would also replace the seat with the new washer. And you may have forgotten the washer that seals the stem to the faucet body. pick up a new stem when you get the new seat.

pp-faucet-seat.jpg


pp_three_handle_stems.jpg
 
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RoyBarton

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If your valve is leaking behind the wall your packing is the culprit. A leaking washer would leak through the shower head itself

Normally I would also replace the seat with the new washer. And you may have forgotten the washer that seals the stem to the faucet body. pick up a new stem when you get the new seat.

pp-faucet-seat.jpg


pp_three_handle_stems.jpg

Thank you!! I've attached a photo of the seat. It looks like one that has to be reseated rather than replaced, but I'm not 100% sure. Is there an option for fixing the packing rather than replacing the stem?

PXL_20220607_065145833.jpg
 
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Jadnashua

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For future reference, if your washers wear out in months, your valve seat is usually toast and the rough surface is wearing away the washer material.
 

William S.

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you may have forgotten the washer that seals the stem to the faucet body

You refer here to the bonnet washer, aka "cap thread gasket"?

I'm planning to pull out and service a shower stem. It's an aftermarket Savoy replacement. I saved the OEM Savoy stems, for reference.

Going to local stores with the OEMs for reference, I haven't yet been able to find a cap thread gasket that fits snugly. I bought one at a local hardware store, as well as a box of assorted at the local big box. Is it ok to reuse the old cap thread gasket?
 

Jeff H Young

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You refer here to the bonnet washer, aka "cap thread gasket"?

I'm planning to pull out and service a shower stem. It's an aftermarket Savoy replacement. I saved the OEM Savoy stems, for reference.

Going to local stores with the OEMs for reference, I haven't yet been able to find a cap thread gasket that fits snugly. I bought one at a local hardware store, as well as a box of assorted at the local big box. Is it ok to reuse the old cap thread gasket?
cap thread gasket? are you talking about the fiber washer that goes between the valve body and stem assembley? re use if you dont have a new one sure they usually last a few uses
 

William S.

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cap thread gasket? are you talking about the fiber washer that goes between the valve body and stem assembley? re use if you dont have a new one sure they usually last a few uses

Jeff -- thanks for letting me know they can last a few uses! That is helpful to know. I may have to go that route.

And yes -- I'm talking about the washer that goes between the valve body and the stem. I only recently came across the term "cap thread gasket". Now you've got me wondering if it is used much.

In the below pic, there's an old OEM Savoy stem that's no longer in service, but which I keep around for reference. It still has the washer/cap thread gasket/bonnet washer very snugly in place.

OEM.old.gasketa - Copy.JPG
 

William S.

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Gotcha. When I pull out the aftermarket Savoy stem currently in the shower valve, I'm hoping that the washer / gasket is in good enough shape to reuse. The replacement washers I've found so far are either too small or too big. Using the old OEM stem as a reference for sizing, the pic shows the closest fit I've found so far still has a bit of play:

OEM.new.gasket.JPG
 
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William S.

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Yes, Terry, there's no getting around it. That "wrong size" cap gasket was from a drawer at a local hardware store, where there was a huge assortment knocking around. I went back there and rummaged some more. Still no better find than the one pictured. An email to the supply house that sold me the aftermarket Savoy stems yielded a polite reply but no offer of cap gaskets for sale.

I realized I'd have to go to Ace Hardware, which is not usually my go-to for plumbing parts. There, I discovered a whole world of Danco cap gaskets, in varying sizes and colors, arranged neatly in little drawers in a wall display. The catch? The gaskets were in little sealed bags. What's more they were being sold one to a bag. In some cases, dimensions were measured down to 64ths of an inch.

dimensions.close.jpg


I'd never thought about 64ths of an inch before. I also had no idea of the specific dimensions I would need, so I bought a few sizes. Number 11 (individual bag pictured above) had too much play, but number 32 seems about right (pictured here on an old out-of-service stem which I keep around for reference):

gasket.number.32.jpg
IMG_1878.JPG
 
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