I replaced my garbage disposal today. I took apart the connection between the far end of the p-trap and the pipe leading to the wall (thinking that the blockage I was experiencing was in the p-trap, but this turned out not to be true). I have reconnected everything and all seems well except water is leaking out of that connection. It appears to be two plastic or maybe metal pipes. One has an attached flange and there is a large nut that slips down over the whole connection. Do I need to put som plumbers putty somewhere? If so where? If not, what do I do to stop this leak?

If possible, please reach me using instant messenger. I am "HawaiiThad" on most services. Or reply here. Any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks,
Thad

 

Thad, make sure you didn't lose the opaque washer that went under the nut when you disassembled it. It sounds as if a washer is missing or broken. Check that out and post back.

 

I never took the nut off (because I can't get it over the flange). There does not appear to be a washer. I'm sure a picture would help:
http://66.91.217.22/~Thad/temp/pipe.JPG

The water leaks over the top of the nut from the center, rather than down out the bottom of it.

What do I do here?

Thanks,
Thad

 

Thad, thanks for the pix. It appears you may have a slight damage to the rim of the p trap, hence the leaking. You may want to consider replacing the metal pieces you have removed from the wall tube with plastic. It is more forgiving, fits more precisely, and won't rust. You can buy them as a kit or by the piece. Let us know how it goes.

 

I replaced both metal pieces shown in my picture with plastic ones from Home Depot. It now leaks only slightly (in 20 seconds with the faucet on full blast, I saw only one drop of water from that joint), but now it also leaks very slighty from where the new white pipe connects to the one in the wall. :-(

I think the leaking is coming out from the bottom of the big nut now rather than over the top as before. I have tightened the nut as much as I can by hand. It looks like something that should only be hand tightened, not tightened with a wrench (but what do I know ;-) ).

 

Thad: I think I see a vinyl nut on the waste arm going into the wall. If so, have you, or can you replace the waste arm as well. I think the metal to plastic is not a good fit, and you may alleviate the leak by changing one more pipe. Sorry I didn't notice it on the first go around. You are right, that is why here are ears on the nuts, so you can torque them with your hands without having to resort to a pair of pliers.

 

I tightened the heck out of everything. It's as tight as I can possibly make it. I had the afterthought to switch the old nut at the wall with the new one nearest the disposal, but I couldn't unscrew the nut at the wall, so it will have to stay as is. After all the tightening, it seems like the leaks might be gone. Hopefully this statement won't jinx me. Thanks!