Tub Drain Issues

[Smatz]

Hello, I have an upstairs tub with an OS&B manufactured drain that has a leak from the underside. It has had a small drip since it was installed and the area is a real pain to get into from in the basement. The drain seems to only drip when the tub is full and someone is in it.
Recently I removed the drain from the topside of the tub, re-puttied the flange and thread taped the threads. It is now leaking worse when the tub is full and someone is in it.
I attached a few pictures, the one marked up with arrows shows the following: **Red arrow indicates where the first original drip was coming from - not on the fitting but close to it (not sure if the drip was moving from underside drain to where the red arrow indicates?
**Green arrow indicates where now faster leak *appears to be leaking*.
**Hand drawn red line appears to what could be a water stain in underside body of the tub.
Based on this, any suggestions on what I can do to stop this from leaking?

 

[Terry]

Never put tape on the threads.

The seal is the rubber washer between the tub and the plastic drain. If that is good there isn't even a reason for putty.
The plastic drain fitting must be square with the tub. For that reason, I try to install that fitting to the tub first and then glue up the tee behind it.

And yes, you have a very awkward situation there. I can see it would have been difficult.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Smatz]

When you mention seal, do you mean a seal between the chrome drain and inside of the tub (last picture above)? If that's the case, there was no seal there. Also when you mention plastic drain must be square... is that the under side fitting you mean?

Are you able to give me some guidance based on my post and the picture of where the leak is and what I should do to repair it? Apologies if my questions ask for lots of details. I'm a plumbing newbie...

 

[Jadnashua]

Something to consider...except for something like a cast iron tub, most all of the composite ones will flex slightly when you stand in them unless you've bedded them in some rigid material (a common one is a mortar mix). That's probably why it leaks only when someone is in the tub - the flex is stressing the joint and opening up enough to leak. So, the ultimate solution may entail both trying to stabilize the tub so it doesn't flex as much, and second, trying to make sure that the drain is square (no side pressure) to the tub with the proper seal.

 

[Terry]

I would remove the metal drain and remove the tape.
Remove the rubber washer and make sure it's clean. Make sure the plastic drain is clean and the underside of the tub is clean.
Put new putty on the metal drain, place the clean rubber washer between the drain and tub, and then thread the metal drain back in.

Square
Sometimes when a plastic drain is glued up, the shoe that receives the drain is a little crooked. Crooked is not good, because the rubber washer has a hard time being uniformly snugged up between the show and the tub.

 

[Erico]

I would remove the metal drain and remove the tape.
Remove the rubber washer and make sure it's clean. Make sure the plastic drain is clean and the underside of the tub is clean.
Put new putty on the metal drain, place the clean rubber washer between the drain and tub, and then thread the metal drain back in.

Square
Sometimes when a plastic drain is glued up, the shoe that receives the drain is a little crooked. Crooked is not good, because the rubber washer has a hard time being uniformly snugged up between the show and the tub.

I wonder, in a worse case scenario, if that doesn't work: loosen the over flow enough for a little play. Then maybe even cut that long pipe above the trap loose (about halfway up).

Reset the shoe drain piece and crank it down square and true. Maybe with some silicone (let it dry)? Then tighten the overflow. Then repair the pipe with a fernco.

I would probably even shave out a little more of that floor joist with a long sawsall blade or an oscillating tool while I had everything loosened up.

Something is not lined up right or maybe riding on the joist. It shouldn't be this hard to get a seal.

 

[Terry]

I had a plumber that worked for me that tried Silicone on the tub drain. It took me a long time to clean all of that off so I could get it to seal. I had asked him to not do that. It leaked, and I wound up being the guy that had to fix it.

 

[Erico]

I had a plumber that worked for me that tried Silicone on the tub drain. It took me a long time to clean all of that off so I could get it to seal. I had asked him to not do that. It leaked, and I wound up being the guy that had to fix it.

Yeah, wasn't sure about the silicone. But I could swear the instructions called for it in a Duravit acrylic tub we put in at a buddy's house last year.

A good flat seal of rubber shouldn't need it.

 

[Jadnashua]

Some tubs that use fiberglass do not have a smooth surface around the overflow or drain, and sealing can be problematic with the rubber seal.