How do I get to the gasket in a stand up shower to replace the gasket? I am using a pair of channel lock pliers, handles down the drain and turning... I don't seem to be making any progress other than tearing the grips of the handles of my pliers. Any suggestions?
:confused:

You need to buy a tub removal tool, about $8. It has a criss cross fitting that reaches into the drain and will accept a wrench at the other end for leverage.

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Originally Posted by J Bellau

How do I get to the gasket in a stand up shower to replace the gasket? I am using a pair of channel lock pliers, handles down the drain and turning....I don't seem to be making any progress other than tearing the grips of the handles of my pliers. Any suggestions?
:confused:

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A tub removal tool won't help to get the drain from a shower removed. The drains are different. There shouldn't be a gasket under the lip of the shower drain,(see image). And you don't just "remove" a shower drain, If it's metal then you have a caulked joint and if it's plastic the raiser's glued to the drain body.
Let me show you how the typical shower drain installs. First a ring of plumbers putty under the lip of the drain. Set the drain down on the base.
Now, under the shower base will go the rubber washer, then the anti-friction fiber washer and finally the big retraining nut. The trap raiser will be glued to the drain body so even if you romove the nut and washers you will still have to cut the raiser to remove the drain. Good luck, Tom

I have a similar issue and thanks Speedball for the pic that helps a bunch. I removed the ceiling below a shower drain that was leaking and it appears that the rubber gasket between the big nut and the flange is degraded and leaking. It doesn't appear that I can simply replace the gasket since the pipe (PVC) is glued to the actual drain. It does move up/down a short distance after removing the nut but there isn't a 'union' to remove on the other side of the trap so it looks like I'll be cutting it. Should I just replace the entire assembly you pictured here?

This is a great site by the way!

If the raiser,( the pipe glued into the drain) has enough room you can cut he pipe about 1 1/2" above the trap, remove the drain and purchase a replacement gasket and a DWV coupling. You may then reinstall the drain being sure to slip a small rope of plumbers putty or Silicon Jel under the lip after first priming and gluing in a CWV coupling on the raiser. If you haven't the room you will have to replace the entire assembly back past the trap. Good luck, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

If the raiser,( the pipe glued into the drain) has enough room you can cut he pipe about 1 1/2" above the trap, remove the drain and purchase a replacement gasket and a DWV coupling. You may then reinstall the drain being sure to slip a small rope of plumbers putty or Silicon Jel under the lip after first priming and gluing in a CWV coupling on the raiser. If you haven't the room you will have to repalce the entire assembly back past the trap. Good luck, Tom

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Sorry, I'm new to this stuff. What is CWV and DWV? Thanks a bunch for the speedy and informative reply.:)

DWV= Drain/Waste/Vent. The CWV was a mistake, it should have read DWV.
A DWV coupling is shorter and not as heavy then a pressure coupling of the same size. My fault for not explaining. Regards, tom

Thanks Speedball, I Googled it and just came up with page after page of catalog entries for couplings but not a definition of the acronym... appreciate it.

Okay, I couldn't purchase the gasket locally so I bought a replacement drain. The replacement doesn't have a nut on the outside, rather the entire PVC piece that you glue the raiser stub into threads over the drain that goes from the top down through the hole in the shower floor. Now, it makes sense to me to silicon the drain lip to the shower floor by dropping it through then snugging up the drain from below - but since the 2-in DWV stub has to be glued into the drain and the DWV coupling before the trap I'll have a really tough time getting that done due to the give required in the trap to travel apart enough to get the stub into both the coupling and the drain. I'm thinking I need a union now before the trap instead of a coupling. Speedball, does that make sense or am I off base?

Could you give me the brand name of the shower drain that you purchased? Does it have expanding tabs that fit inside the raiser like a Wing-Tite Drain?
Thanks, Tom

It glues to the raiser. I installed it with a high-pressure (the only 2-in they had) union and it isn't leaking at all. Thanks a bunch for your help!

Glad we could help a bit. If we can be of assistance in the future don't hesitate to ask. Regards, Tom