I am trying to replace the cartridge in a Moen bathroom faucet. I cannot remove the decorative collar to get at the the cartridge. It has never been removed since the house was built 20 years ago. It is supposed to be threaded and easily unscrewed. I suspect they used Loctite when it was installed. I have tried a strap wrench without success. Any suggestions?
If it's metal, it's probably corroded to the stem. I have had to cut faucet handles off and replace them because of that. I just replaced my shower cartridge recently, and even with the set screw completely removed I thought I was going to break the handle.
In reply to Mustang50 :
Single handle? Two handles? You say decorative, so I assume handle. With my Delta two handle faucet, an Allen key holds the handle on and a threaded collar lives below that. Given that rubber o-rings do the sealing, it ought not be too tight. Can you get an actual pipe wrench on it? It may be possible to break it loose without buggering it up too bad.
Hey, post some pics. I'm pretty familiar with 20 year old moen stuff but can't tell what you mean by decorative collar.
I've never had to use heat/chemicals on one, but some specific tools and leverage have been important.
Moen has a lifetime warranty if you are original purchaser or the first owner of the house. I've replaced my kitchen faucet 4x - sometimes you gotta get a little pissy with them. (We have issues with lime and hard water)
To get a bathroom warranted faucet we had to email pictures of the corroded body.
They try to talk you into an expedited service for a cost. We love Moen so much that when we remodeled our kitchen we put in Kohler.
Datsun240ZGuy said:Moen has a lifetime warranty if you are original purchaser or the first owner of the house. I've replaced my kitchen faucet 4x - sometimes you gotta get a little pissy with them. (We have issues with lime and hard water)
To get a bathroom warranted faucet we had to email pictures of the corroded body.
They try to talk you into an expedited service for a cost. We love Moen so much that when we remodeled our kitchen we put in Kohler.
I think Moen is kinda like GM. They're cheap and will work in a semi-broken state for a really long time.
I've had a very excellent experience with the customer service people at Delta Faucet. The 1/4 -turn cartridges get to squeaking after a few years and they've been nice enough to send replacements at no charge. The warranty covers the faucet as long as you are the original purchaser and it's in the house in which it was first installed.
(2) How To Fix a Dripping Moen Faucet (HowToLou.com) - YouTube
Here is a video that shows repairing a similar faucet. He just unscrews the collar by hand. I cannot and I tried with a strap wrench.
Should I try to heat the collar?
How exactly did the strap wrench fail? Did it break? Or were you not able to get enough friction to loosen the collar?
Try something like this guy does in this video:
Assuming Moen will send you a new handle, you can risk buggering up yours with a pipe wrench. Since yours is round, maybe wrap with some grippy tape to get some traction.
Hmm, not familiar with the dual handle design. I would start by verifying there isn't a set screw in the back of the handle. After that I would follow what @1988RedT2 says and increase friction on the strap wrench...then maybe a chemical to break up the hard-water deposits (white vinegar?) and then heat. Good luck!
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
The strap wrench slipped around the collar. I talked to Moen today and he suggested heating the collar with a hair dryer. Since I have so little hair I borrow my wife's hair dryer when she's not home.
In reply to Mustang50 :
I can't imagine a hair dryer would generate enough heat, you'll need a heat gun.
Steve_Jones said:In reply to Mustang50 :
I can't imagine a hair dryer would generate enough heat, you'll need a heat gun.
I would start with the hair dryer. The plastic parts are not going to benefit from the amount of heat a heat gun can generate.
Also, see if you can find a way to get more grip from your strap wrench. Really cinch that thing up tight before you start to turn it.
Or, last resort:
You'll need to log in to post.
