View Full Version : Stripped faucet seat?
been_jamminh
May 26, 2010, 12:03 AM
Okay, so we put in new a faucet seat but the shower still leaks. Having trouble screwing in the new seats. I think the problem is that the piece that it screws into is stripped... what can I do?
creahands
May 26, 2010, 04:37 AM
If u forced the seat when screwing it in, u may have stripped the threads on faucet. Only fix I know is replace faucet.
Maybe one of experts has better/easier way.
Chuck
massplumber2008
May 26, 2010, 05:30 AM
Hi all:
If the piece you screw into is stripped then you could purchase a drill bit and tap that is the next size up and drill/tap a new tapping for a new screw. You would want to purchase a bib screw made of brass to finish the job. You could also try a self-tapping screw and then after self-tapping a new hole throw away the self-tapping screw and install a new brass bib screw with the same threads...
Hope that fixes it... ;)
Mark
creahands
May 26, 2010, 01:15 PM
Hi Mark
I believe PO is saying he thinks seat threads are stripped.
Chuck
massplumber2008
May 27, 2010, 04:06 AM
Hi Chuck:
Right, so if the seat threads are stripped he can take a drill bit and TAP that is the next size up from what is there now and drill the hole in the stem assembly a little larger and then tap a new thread... right? Bib screws come in many different sizes. I've done this many times over the years... ;)
Mark
creahands
May 27, 2010, 09:29 AM
Have never tried to tap a seat thread. Learn something new everyday.
Thanks
Chuck
hkstroud
May 27, 2010, 10:45 AM
If'n it wus me,
I would suspect that I got the wrong seats. Probably the right size but the wrong thread.
If I could find the old seats I would check that out. Then I would get some new seats with the right thread. Remove the existing seats and try the new ones. Hope that the seats threads got mucked up not the threads in the faucet. Even if the threads in the faucet are damage I might be able to get the new ones started and straighten the damaged threads.
Might not work but worth a try. I wouldn't mind drilling and tapping but I would expect to have troubling find the right size tap.
massplumber2008
May 27, 2010, 08:05 PM
Hi guys...
Seems I went and confused the seat with the retaining body of a stem assembly... :o I was thinking been_jamminh had stripped the washer screw and that simply needed to be drilled and tapped to the next screw size up to fix this.
Clearly, the seat is not the washer retainer!
Chuck, I'm sorry if I caused any confusion on this... your answer was quite appropriate, for sure!
Harold, thanks for trying to work with me on my answer... I would also expect difficulty in finding the right tap! Very reasonable that the seat could be the wrong seat... I've run into that before!
Thanks again guys...
Mark