How to repair a leaky shower faucet?

Sources SVG
Answer
To repair a leaky shower faucet, follow these steps:
  1. Turn off the water supply to the faucet by locating the shut-off valve under the sink and turning it off. Open the faucet to confirm the water is not flowing1.
  2. Remove the shower handle by prying off the decorative cap, removing the screw, and gently lifting off the handle13.
  3. Remove the faceplate and escutcheon to expose the valve. Some faucets have a locking clip that secures the cartridge in place, which may require a special tool to remove
    2
    .
  4. Pull out the cartridge and take it to the hardware store to match up a replacement. Ensure the new cartridge has the holes aligned correctly3.
  5. Insert the new cartridge, hand-tighten it, then use an adjustable wrench to secure it. Be careful not to overtighten3.
  6. Screw the cap back on and replace the faceplate, escutcheon, and handle. Turn the water back on and check for leaks3.
If the leak persists or the valve body is damaged, you may need to call a professional plumber to replace the entire valve behind the wall
2
.
Regular maintenance like cleaning the aerator and inspecting for loose parts can help prevent future leaks1.




Author: Makify1



Key insights

  • Identifying the hot side as the source of the leak is the first step in repairing a leaky shower faucet.
  • The setup of shower faucet handles can vary, with some having screws on the front and others on the side.
  • Replicating the function of a shower faucet can be easier than expected.
  • The decorative cover and sleeve are important for preventing water from getting behind the faucet.
  • Using the right tools, like a hex wrench, is crucial for successfully repairing a leaky shower faucet.
  • The missing flat washer is what's leading to the leaking, not the overall condition of the faucet.
  • The process of repairing a leaky shower faucet involves unscrewing, replacing parts, and using plumbers grease for smooth operation.
  • Testing for leaks after repairing a shower faucet is crucial to ensure that the problem has been fixed.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Fixing a leaky shower faucet by turning off water supply, opening faucet, and replacing rubber bushings and seals.
  • 00:52 Remove the screw on the handle to access the faucet and use a special handle puller if it's stuck.
  • 01:41 Replicate the force of the faucet handle to put pressure on the stem and pop it to fix the leak.
  • 02:19 Be careful when removing the handle and assembly to prevent breaking pipes, and there are decorative caps and a sleeve screwed around the actual stem.
  • 03:07 Unscrew the outer part, use a hex wrench to remove the old stem, which is in bad shape.
  • 04:45 Replace the flat washer and o-ring to fix the leaking shower faucet.
  • 05:38 Replace the old washer with a new one, add a flat washer, screw it back together, grease the threads, and put the seat assembly back into the faucet.
  • 07:25 Tighten the pipe in the wall, test for leaks, and use silicon caulk to prevent water damage.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 Faucet on my shower has a pretty bad leak as you can see. It's wasting quite a bit of water. It's loud. It's annoying I'm going to see if I can fix it just feeling the water that's leaking out. I know that the hot side has the leak because the water's hot so what I'm going to do. I'm going to go. I'm going to turn off water supply grab. Some tools open up this faucet and see if I can replace some of the rubber bushings and seals in that okay. So I got the water shut-off and now I'm going to put a stopper into my tub. So if I drop anything it's not going to go down the drain okay. Now every every faucet is going to be slightly different.
    Read More
  • 00:52 The same ideas hold but exactly how they're set up. It's a little different. This one has a screw on the handle on the very front that's pretty common. Sometimes you see screws on the side that hold a handle into place in the front spread. Most common you just unscrew that should come out pretty easily and sometimes I wiggle this to get this out. My hands are stuck on there pretty good his neck all right. So this thing this handle is not coming off very easily. It makes special handle pullers.
    Read More
  • 01:41 I don't have one so I'm going to try to basically replicate what those things do and what they do put force here on the stem inside and then they squeeze the handle and this point oh wow just like that that was easier than I thought okay. So you know. I just put pressure here that will put pressure on the stem and then I just pop it like that you don't want. You want to tug on this too much because it's connected. It's stuck.
    Read More
  • 02:19 It's connected to the pipes in the back and you're banging around the pipes inside the wall and you could break a pipe and that would be bad. I got the handle off now we're going to take a look at what we got inside here that just looks like break the seal of the clock around there. Just think if I just unscrew this this whole assembly should come off. There we go so what we had. This is just there two for decoration in to prevent water from getting behind there and in there is a sleeve that's screwed around the actual stem all right.
    Read More
  • 03:07 So I can do is. I can unscrew this outer part all right so what I'm going to use. I have a set of these things they're just I don't know what they're called let's go to hex wrench and the right size see this act. All right thing is not budgeting. I'm going to extend the Weaver on this way got it okay and pull the stem. I'll give you a look at give you a close-up of this here's the old stem. It's in pretty bad shape by the stem metal.
    Read More
  • 04:45 It's in good shape but the other seals are in pretty bad shape. There's there should be a flat washer. Here there isn't even one there. It's completely gone and that is what's leading to the leaking. There's an o-ring here which is completely flat should be rounded. I'm going to go ahead and replace that as well and there's another washer here which I may or may not replace depending. If I have the part or not so first. I'm going to replace this. This flattened over ring use a little screwdriver and shut up shoot yeah. I just cut myself. I just cut myself. I'll be right back okay. I'm going to continue pop.
    Read More
  • 05:38 This washer off. Now I'll pop it off and come back to the old ones off at the new one. I'm going to slide that back on okay that's on now I'm going to replace around add a flat washer here in the back which requires me to unscrew this screw in the back flat. Washer goes on screw goes on top. There screw that down okay. It's good bring this all back together. I'm going to use some plumbers grease and grease up. These threads so that the handle turns easily now. I'm going to put the whole seat assembly back into the faucet in the wall. There.
    Read More
  • 07:25 The pipe in the wall tighten that up nice and tight so it doesn't move. It doesn't leak okay. I'm just going to slide the handle on and tighten this up so that it's in the off position. I'm going to go turn the water back on and test to make sure that this is all nice and good before I finish everything up waters back on and you can see there's no leak. I'm going to just test this hot water here turn it off. There. We go I'm going to just put this stuff back together the rest of the faucet here and we'll be done okay. So I got everything put back together. It's a good idea to use some silicon caulk and caulk around the edge. So you don't get water dripping behind your wall causing problems. Everything's together hot water works well. No drip everything seems good.
    Read More