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I managed to pull off the handles based on other instructions, but now I'm stuck. I'm supposed to change washer to fix the leak, but I don’t see a washer. Where do I go from here?

faucet with handles removed

FreeMan
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Evkw
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1 Answers1

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You'll have to pull the hot & cold water stems out - that's the part under the white gears (which connect the removed handles to the stem).

Turn the water off, either below the sink or to the whole house if you cannot find a shut off for just this faucet

Carefully remove the 2 Phillips head screws in the center of the white gears. Use extreme care for the cold water (on the right) since that screw head is already starting to strip out. Another slip or two and you could round out the cross enough make it almost impossible to get the screw out.

Once the screws are removed, pull the white gears off, noting which way they come off - they're keyed on the bottom side, then pull the metal stems, below. You'll find washers on the stems, and these are the ones you're looking to replace.

I'd strongly suggest replacing the screw on the cold water tap to ensure that it's easy to remove the next time someone (possibly future you) needs to remove this. Between this removal and reinstallation, that screw head could easily get totally rounded out. For the very small price of a replacement screw, it's cheap insurance against that happening. Might as well replace both at the same time - you'll probably find them in pairs when you go to buy them, anyway.

FreeMan
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    Note that further work with a wrench might be required once the white plastic bits are out of the way, before the stems can actually be pulled. And do be sure the water is turned off before that point, or things **get messy, *fast.*** – Ecnerwal Dec 14 '21 at 13:41
  • Forget the phillips, use a flat head screwdriver at least as large as the screw. It will deliver a lot more torque before damaging the screw. – Olivier Dec 14 '21 at 14:01
  • Excellent point, @Ecnerwal. Added that to the answer, thanks. – FreeMan Dec 14 '21 at 15:41
  • That can work, @Olivier, sometimes, I have about as much issue with a flat head as with Phillips. Maybe it's just in my technique. If the Phillips cross _is_ too damaged for the driver to engage, it's the only (easy) option before breaking out the screw extractors. – FreeMan Dec 14 '21 at 15:42
  • @FreeMan I don't think it's your technique. Flat head is just plain difficult to use. Another little known option is screw grab (diamond dust in a paste) which can work wonders on phillips heads if you use it before causing too much damage. I've read valve grinding compound is similar. – Olivier Dec 14 '21 at 17:51
  • Thanks everybody for your input, I easily removed 2 Philips screw with Philips, just it’s so hard to pull the white gears off, @FreeMan you said: “ noting which way they come off - they're keyed on the bottom side”, what dose it mean? Thank you!! – Evkw Dec 15 '21 at 07:40
  • @Evkw there is probably a flat that aligns with a round shaft, or there is a bulge sticking out of the bottom of the white gear that goes into a notch in the top of the stem (or vice versa). They're probably _not_ simply a round hole on a round shaft relying purely on friction to turn the faucet, much like the splines on the white plastic align with the channels on the inside of the handles to make them turn. i.e. they may only go one one way. [Here is a description](https://latovichmachine.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-keyed-shafts/) from a site not trying to sell you something. – FreeMan Dec 15 '21 at 12:45
  • I made a little progress today, glad that I pull the white plastic gear out, and the little key underneath the white gear out, – Evkw Dec 16 '21 at 07:06
  • Feel like to give up at this point, maybe just get a new faucet and replace probably easier then keep this old one, – Evkw Dec 16 '21 at 07:10
  • Consider updating your question with a new picture of where you're currently stuck. Generally, we don't like questions that migrate like this, but, IMHO, you're still under the "one question" rule because you're still trying to get the stem out to replace a washer. Others may disagree and ask you to post a whole new question... – FreeMan Dec 16 '21 at 12:38