New member needs help identifying a needed replacement cartridge DIY

[WayneS]

I do have a little bit of experience but this is nuts! I started to replace the "washers" on my 3 valve tub/shower faucet and I can't find anything online that has been any help so far. The hot/cold valves turn full on/off with a 180 degree twist It is leaking, of course. I have not yet pulled the cartridge. I ran out of time. I'll come back later and post some pictures if needed. I just put the handles back on. I turned off the water at the main but as it turned out it was a wasted action. The main body of the valve is deep back in the wall and I'm hoping I don't mess things up so bad that I have a disaster on my hands. The handles are held on with what looks like a 4 inch screw. The stem of the valve has a process with a cutout that looks to be about 90 degrees out of the 360. The handle has the matching piece to engage the stem. I'm guessing that this thing has a cartridge. The cartridge is behind a hexagonal "nut" that is about 1/8 inch thick. The rest of the stem is unremarkable, no lettering or numbers that I could easily read. Now that I think about it I should have taken some pictures with my phone.

Who made this? Who sells the parts I need? Where can I lookup the part number? or what? What is the proper name for this cartridge? This is very frustrating since EVERYTHING is on the Internet these days. I am glad I found your forum. I have great expectations.

 

[havasu]

Pics sure would be a big help!

 

[WayneS]

I finished the repair today. The unit seems to be made by Delta. I bought the replacement cartridges at the local True Value Hardware. The part I needed is the 3S-10H/C HOT/COLD STEM for Delta Faucets. The one on the right with the green stain is one that I removed.

 

[WayneS]

This is basically what I was trying to describe yesterday. The handle was removed but I did not have a wrench large enough to loosen this metal sleeve with the hex nut on the end. I needed a 1 inch wrench. I bought a large adjustable and it worked fine. It turns out this piece is just an extension that brings the works out of the wall. When I loosened it the sleeve came off

 

[WayneS]

Here is a picture of the sleeve. The sleeve surrounded the white plastic extension that mated with the stem in the picture above. One more picture and I will finish.

 

[WayneS]

Here is the visible end of the stem before I removed it. I needed a tool with a hook to dislodge it from the valve body. It is being held in place by a compressed O-ring and I could not get a grip on it with my fingers. The space is too tight. After I pulled it out I could see the problem in the back of the valve body and I needed a small hook, again, to pull out the worn part. It is not an O-ring. It is not a washer. It is shaped like a cup. Behind it is a spring. Replacements for both of these came in the repair kit.

Getting the old warn part out was not hard after I made a small hook from scrap metal. Putting the repair part in was a problem. The large end of the spring goes in the hole first with the seal on the small end. This business did not want to go in that hole. I put these parts on the end of a small screwdriver and with the shaft of the screwdriver in the hole I worked it in where it was to go. I did lubricate everything with soap to help is slide in but it took a while.

I could feel the difference between the old and new with the tip of my finger. The old one was just about flush while the new one was noticeably proud.

The rest of the stem went in okay but was not easy. I wanted to be sure to not pinch or destroy the O-ring that sealed the near end of the valve. It is very small and almost loose. Just be careful.

The extension and handle went on with no problem. That is all.