Leaking Bathtub Stems


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Old 07-23-14, 06:50 AM
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Leaking Bathtub Stems

I replaced the hot and cold water valve stems (3 handle system), along with seats, about a year ago in my bathtub. Everything seemed to go okay until I recently noticed that my carpet was wet near the access panel behind the bathtub. I opened it up and both valves are leaking only when the water is turned on. I took one of the valves off and the threads appear to be wet so I assume that the leak is happening at the connection from the valve to the pipe. Any idea why this would be?
 
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Old 07-23-14, 08:37 AM
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There is a seal around the stem and on many faucets and tightening the stem nut squeezes the packing to the stem sealing the leak.
 
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Old 07-23-14, 08:48 AM
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I believe you are referring to the packing nut (maybe I am wrong). I've attached a picture to show where the leak is actually coming from (the picture is just a representaion of the stem, not the actual one). I did originally tighten the packing nut before I realized that the leak was not coming from the stem but instead from the connection from the pipe to the valve. Can you tell me if there is another nut that you are referring?
 
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Old 07-23-14, 10:09 AM
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If it's leaking where you show I would pull out the valve assembly again and make sure the seat area is clean and smooth. Maybe a bit of debris got in there when you worked on it last, preventing it from sealing. It should be the sort of thing that screws in and that's it. No adjustment.
 
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Old 07-23-14, 10:14 AM
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I did that with the hot water valve and reinstalled it but it still leaks. It seems weird that it would be leaking from both valves as well. Is it possible that even though they seem to screw in fine, that I bought a replacement valve that has a different thread pattern or something which would cause the leak?
 
 

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