The shower diverter valve in the spout of my Moen Moentrol Single-Handle Tub/Shower spout has recently started leaking; i.e. when the shower is turned on, water now comes out of both the tub spout and the shower. This unit was an original installation in about 1999. I note that it has a slot on the underside of the spout, but no Allen screw visible in the cavity; only a tab. I tried removing the spout by pulling the tab forward and also pushing it backward, but the spout did not appear to want to pull off or unscrew. I did not wish to apply more force before knowing exactly what I should be doing. How do I repair/replace this diverter valve?

If there isn't an allen screw, then it is likely an IPS spout, which means it is threaded onto a brass or galvanized nipple.

You should be able to twist it off counter-clockwise.

If there isn't an allen screw, then it is likely an IPS spout, which means it is threaded onto a brass or galvanized nipple.

You should be able to twist it off counter-clockwise.

This was correct; it worked. However, I wanted to add that after I unscrewed the spout, I did discover an Allen screw. It was oriented on top! While I had the spout off, I loosened it and rotated it around to the bottom where it would be accessible through the slot. That raises the question, what is the purpose of this Allen screw since it proved irrelevant to my unscrewing of the spout. Have I made a mistake now by rotating it around to the bottom where it is now accessible through the slot?

This was correct; it worked. However, I wanted to add that after I unscrewed the spout, I did discover an Allen screw. It was oriented on top! While I had the spout off, I loosened it and rotated it around to the bottom where it would be accessable through the slot. That raises the question, what is the purpose of this Allen screw since it proved irrelevant to my unscrewing of the spout. Have I made a mistake now by rotating it around to the bottom where it is now accessible through the slot?


Sounds like someone removed the inner Copper Tube size sleeve and used the threaded fitting inside.

I can't judge your answer through lack of experience with this fitting. For your information, in case it is useful, what remained after I unscrewed the tub spout was a piece of white plastic (looked like nylon) having a male thread that the spout was threaded onto. The threads on this part that held the spout were about 4 inches out from the wall. The threads or whatever that the Allen screw was concerned with were flush or inboard of the wall. When I rotated this part, prior to tightening the Allen screw and trying to find out if it would loosen or tighten, nothing happened. Since I accomplished my initial objective of removing the defective part, I did not explore further the question of what this Allen screw did. I simply tightened it up, but this time pointing toward the bottom.

I have the same diverter spout with the same problem. I tried twisting the spout counter clockwise but it won't budge. How much force did you have to apply? Tx.