Hello, My bathtub coldwater stem is I think stripped. Can not turn the water on or off. Can I replace it myself, or do I need a plumber? Help!!

 

The handle just spins in circles, doesn't it? Either the handle is stripped on the faucet stem splines, or the worm gear of the stem itself is indeed stripped.

You can replace it yourself, if you find the replacement.

 

Thank you so much for your reply. the stem is cemented in the wall. Will it be hard to get out, and how do I know what type of stem to replace it?

 

That's why I own one of those 5-piece deep well hand socket sets for plumbing. They have 10 different sizes that fit virtually any plumbing valve stem hex nut.

You have to cut away the cement, obvioiusly, and enough to be able to get one of these sockets around the nut part.

And no, not any old valve stem will do. You have to take it out and bring it with to a store to see if they have an identical replacement.

While you have the valve stem out, take a bright penlight and shine in the hole after you have all the water drained out so you can se good, and inspect the brass 'seat' that the rubber washer squishes up against. If you can't see quite good enough, you can tell blindly, by using a flat screw driver blade and go around the perimeter of the seat and 'feel' if there is any grooves or notch out of it, in the "seat", that cause yor screw driver to bump against when you trace around it.

I won't get into seat extraction or grinding unless you say you have a bad one.

 

Once again thank you for your reply. I will get the socket set you talked about, and try to do it myself. If I need more info, and I am sure I will, I will post another distress email . Thank you very much

 

Thank you.

The reason for those sets that have different sizes on each end (hence 10 sizes), is that they are deeper than deep well sockets that come with rachet sets. They enable you to get a grip on all 6 faces of the hex, without you trying to try to get an open end or crescent wrench in the wall at some weird angle.

To turn the one of those sockets, they include a small short rod to slip through a hole in the end to create a "t" for leverage. However, this is usually not enough. These are built strong enough to withstand putting a big pipe wrench around them, to assist you in turning, if you have to.

 

Thank you for all the information you gave me. It turns out that my co-op is responsilbe for fixing this problem. That worry is over, but I still will get that socket set you suggested. You never know what will be next. Much thanks again for all you help. Take care.