Check out some similar questions!

jtbender · Jun 27, 2009, 05:29 AM

The plunger in my bathtub is stuck (frozen) in the closed position. It is circa 1950 and used little as this it is in a winter home in Florida. I removed the handle assembly and pulled and levered as hard as possible on the plunger linkage but will not budge. If I pull harder the linkage will break. I have soaked it for days with every type drain cleaner and rust remover and penetrating oil I can get my hands on. No improvement. The wall is ceramic tile, the adjoining wall is a shower also ceramic tile. No access panel. If I open the wall next to the tub there will probably be a metal stud blocking access to the piping. Did I mention it is on a slab? Is there a way to remove the plunger so I can install a toe activated drain? Is there a cutter that can be put on the end of a snake to bore a hole in the stuck plunger? Please help. Jim

speedball1 · Jun 27, 2009, 06:33 AM

If I pull harder the linkage will break. I have soaked it for days with every type drain cleaner and rust remover and penetrating oil I can get my hands on. No improvement.

I don't see where you have much choice. Put some muscle in pulling out the stopper. If the linkage separates you can still retrieve the stopper. As you can see by the images I've put up the stopper has a cross bar across the open top. Take a stiff coat hanger and put a small hook on it and go fishing. Your only other option would be to go in from the back side and dismantle the tub waste assembly. Good luck, Tom

jtbender · Jun 27, 2009, 12:02 PM

Thanks SpeedBall. I have put all the muscle I can into pulling out the plunger. I even levered against the tube with a channel lock. The link does not look strong enough to take more pressure. From your answer I presume there is no way to run a cutter/snake assembly into the drain to bore a hole in the plunger then use a toe drain stop? The house is in Naples. Know anyone in the area that can do the job?
Thanks again,
JIm

speedball1 · Jun 27, 2009, 12:16 PM

Naples is a little out of my way. I'm up in Sarasota. Bore through what? The stopper's open top through bottom. It's the body of the cylinder that blocks off the branch of the tee. Your only chance to retrieve the stopper is to pull it up out of the tub waste or go in from the rear and dismantle the waste assembly. You deon't even have to wait until the linkage breaks. Take a good look at the stopper in the left hand image. See the ceossbar the eye's attached to? That's what you want to hook. Get a rod or strong coathanger and put a small hook on the end. It will slide into the stopper sideways and then give it a quarter turn and pull up.
Ya just got my best shot. Good luck, Tom

massplumber2008 · Jun 27, 2009, 12:25 PM

Hi guys...

Jim, have you tried pushing down on the rod to see if the plunger can be forced forward at all.. Try tapping the rod with a hammer and see if that loosens anything.

Finally, I would grab onto that rod and see if you can spin it a bit using the channel lock pliers... try clockwise, then counterclockwise... see if that helps.

Let us know what happens...

MARK