Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but I was hoping that someone could shed some light on a plumbing issue that I have.

My master bedroom shower no longer has any hot water however the rest of my house faucets do and from my research it appears to be an issue with the cartidge/mixing valve which is recommended to replace.

I have a single level faucet and possibly an American Standard valve from what I can tell but I cannot figure out where this cartride/mixing valve is located that I need to take down to my local Home Depot to replace is within my setup.

I've removed the back plate at the actual shower handle to expose some parts and I'm just very nervous about damaging any pipes behind the wall. I do not see any sort of retainer clip at all to remove to even try to pull out the old cartidge.

I've attached a picture for reference and I'm really hoping someone can tell me what I need to do to get at this cartridge/mixing valve. I've also heard of some that have a restraining nut instead of a clip, but I cannot locate this neither.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,

Jeff

Until someone who is more of an expert comes along...
I can recommend taking a picture of it and taking the picture into Home Depot. That is a way for them to see the issue and let you know what to do.
Might not be a real help, but its something that will steer you in the right way

-Nick

Take the pic down to Lowe's or a pluming supply store and look at one like it. Or ask the oldest guy there how to get it off.. good look... google it

I definetely planned on doing so but does anyone know if I'm supposed to be removing the gold lever that is sticking out that the handle goes over or is it it located behind the 2 screws sitting at 3 and 9 o'clock? The house was built in 1998 so it cannot be that obsolete.

Hi Jfaz

Shut off the water supply and remove the screws at 3 and 9 like you thought. That will expose the entire cartridge assembly for easy removal!

While you have the cartridge out, take a second and pulse the water supply back on to clear the lines of any sediment that may be in them. Inspect the cartridge... may find something clogging things up.

Most likely, you won't find the replacement part at home depot or lowes... will need to take this over to a plumbing supply store and they should have a replacement part available for you!

Finally, Nick (Nmow) and Rdn, you guys are new here so I extend a warm welcome, but I want you guys to know that you have stumbled upon a plumbing forum where we don't recommend googling things or even taking pictures and going to home depot/lowes or anything like that until we let all our plumbing experts and other real handy/experienced guys (and a couple gals, too) on the page look at the issue and see what they all think. Sometimes, we'll even post the entire parts diagram for questions like this one... ;) Anyway, again, welcome... stick around and see how well we (5+ experts) watch over this page every single day, OK?


Good luck!

Mark

Hi Mark, thanks for your reply. Ok, I did take the two screws out and it exposed what I'm guessing is either the cartridge assembly or the pressure balance unit.

With this first piece completely off and now the problem is I cannot even figure out a way to remove the plastic inard piece or pieces to be able to get to the cartridge. It appears to be housed is some sort of metal/brass casing. When I shine a flashlight in there it appears that this metal/brass part is attached to 4 different pipes that I can tell which I can't imagine has to be taken apart just to get at the cartridge. Would you agree that the black plastic part(s) somehow unscrews or pops out to expose the actual cartridge? If so, can you please advise how I can get at the actual cartridge inside this area/part?

Grasp the plastic part with a pair of pliers and twist/pull forward... should "pop" out. If it doesn't then it may not be removable, but try pulling it out... looks like it will pop out, OK?

Next, I want to know what happened when you pulsed the water on... did hot water flow out the hot side? If you didn't test this, test this by having a friend pulse the water on for a couple seconds while you watch the valve (remove the spring and cup washer first) and see if water flows... may be all you need to do here.

Post back with your results...

Mark

Hi Mark, OK it looks like I'm on my way to a successful repair now. The plier trick did do the job by being able to remove the plastic black parts. After pulling out the middle area I had inspected it and noticed some sediment stones behind on the back side. Also, I did pulse the water a few times and noticed hot/cold water now coming out. I put it all back together without the backplate, etc. and via the handle brass lever I was able to turn on the hot water as I turned it to the right. I'm getting leaking water still but, I believe the oring that was there is just too stretched out. I'm going to go up to Home Depot to try and get a new oring and see how this works out. So, I believe that I just had some sediment issues is all at this time and there is no need to replace any cartridge. Once the leaking is fixed then I should be just fine with a few more screws.

Thanks again for all your help!

JFAZ

Where is the leak?

It was behind the brass lever part. I replaced an oring behinf the black part that was stretched out as well as I added one to the front of that part too. Where it looked like one should've been and the leak has stopped. I replaced the backplate and the lever and all is good now. No leaks and I have hot water.

Thanks for the update Jfaz!