rebuilding sterling faucet

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cubgirl

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hi everybody,

i already paid a plumber who absconded after he was paid and before work was finished, so i need to do this work myself!! (dumb i know, but i really thought he'd return... now i'm glad he didn't come back -- his work was no good.),

anyway, i have a sterling valve, at least a sterling stem came out of it. the faucet seems to be older and has an "S" broach (square broach) and i've attached a picture of the rebuild kit i purchased. the rebuild kit has no seat, no o-rings and springs. just stems, escutcheons & handles.

the sterling faucet's "seat" is not like other seats that i find on the internet. it cannot be removed with a seat tool, at least not the one i have. so i took a flashlight and looked inside the valve. the valve is inside a fiberglass shower with no rear access, so i just peer through the holes from the front.

what i see are threads inside the metal female portion that juts out of the valve. the female portion appears to be a bit larger than 1/2" but i can't measure it. in the rear, behind the threads, is a white plastic piece that looks like the ones in the picture of a repair kit (the pic with the o-rings and springs), which is attached.

initially, i did not remove the stem (the wayward plumber removed it) so i don't know if there's a missing piece to the faucet but i don't think there's anything missing. but when i try to screw the stem onto the seat, there are not enough threads to secure it to the valve. it starts to screw on but then stops. it's kind of wobbly and any turn of the stem that holds on handle causes the stem to fall out.

do any of you have experience with these types of valves & stems? i can't figure out how to get the seat off or how to re-attach the stem.

thanks in advance. you guys sure do help me out a lot!!

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sterling kit 2.jpg
 
:eek:

Sorry!
I have never seen one of those before. It is very odd looking set up.
If it were in my hands and I can see the actual valve I could probably figure it out.
looks like you have cups and springs like in a DELTA faucet.
look for some videos on YOUTUBE on repairing older style DELTA. That will help you with the cups and springs.
Delta does not have seats but instead the have a spring and a cup that fit into a hole. the spring pushes that against a flat surface on the bottom of the stem. that is where the seal occurs.
 
I took another look at the parts.
Forget what I said above.
I think I know what's going on. Maybe!
I had to leave so I'll be back ina few with some more insight, Maybe!
 
thank you... i'm going to go to the house & take a picture of the inside of the valve... the seat not coming out for me...
 
hi... i got the hot side off but it was a PITA. only came out after using liquid wrench. i thought i was going to break the valve. i'm going to see if there's a tool i can use for the cold side...

thanks for helping me!

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