I noticed there was a small leak in the ceiling so I removed the access panel for my tub/shower that said genius (thankfully) installed and everything looks wrong. I narrowed down (pretty sure) the leak to water getting behind the flange in my tub drain. I have a lot of experience with plumbing so I don't think this should be too difficult and the ceiling is already kind of messed up so I don't mind opening it up, but...can anyone verify what the hell is actually going on?

I'd really appreciate any tips or advice! Here are some pics of this disaster. I'm really not sure how water was even able to drain properly with it being set up the way it is. Thanks a ton.

 

The pieces used look like the usual tub/overflow trap, but the plumbers putty used on the trap looks a little fishy.

 

I would agree the flange is leaking as there is a chunk corroded out of it. From what I can see of the plumbing..... it looks to be done correctly.

Instead of using glue together fittings he used the threaded connector type. Much easier to service now.

 

You're saying its easier to service with the threaded connectors, right? He used the screw on connectors but it seems like some of them are glued on with pvc primer and glue, so I'm not sure how removable they really are haha. Regardless, I really dont want to mess with that part of the shower since it would mean opening up my ceiling for proper access (and there are no issues with it). I really appreciate the diagram!

The drain/flange seem to be either plastic or extremely flimsy metal. I do see the pvc it is on is threaded, though. Should i just break off the column thing and then use the tool I bought to unscrew the flange and just replace that? I just cant understand how this is even allowed, though...I just built a shower and the diameter of the pvc i used is larger and there's actually space for the water to drain. If you look at the photos, there's maybe a 1/2" under it for water to escape.

 

You can try removing the flange from the drain fitting using that tub wrench. You will have to reach into that access hole in the wall to hold the drain fitting in place when installing the new flange. You want to change just the blue circled part. That means you need to find a new fitting with the same thread so take the old one with you. Sometimes the entire fitting circled in red gets replaced.