Hesitant Handyman Repairs - Replacing the Seats & Springs on a Rotary Ball Faucet
We’ve all been there.
You’re laying in bed one night, nearly to the edge of sleep, when suddenly, you hear it.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
“What is that infernal noise?!” You ask yourself. You leap from your bed (at least as well as one might leap at all hours of the night while groggy) to investigate. You stumble over the dog, finding your way to the bathroom, and there it is.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Your bathroom faucet’s got a small leak. Not bad enough that you noticed it when you washed your hands last, but in the dead of night, with all other sounds silenced, you hear it. And it’s torture.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
You move the faucet around, and begin going through a form of the stages of grief reserved for those moments where you’re thinking you’ll need to call a plumber to fix the problem. You bargain with God, telling him all the things you’ll do if you don’t have to pay for someone else to fix this. Dollar signs pile up in your head, thinking this is something that’ll take hours of work. Maybe a new faucet. You can’t help but think that this could be the end of your life savings. It’s time to sell this dilapidated old house…
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
…or not. Maybe I’m being a little melodramatic about it. Depending on the problem, faucet repairs aren’t all that difficult. In my case, we have rotary ball faucets in our bathrooms, so they’re all the same mechanism. And parts aren’t terribly expensive. If you know what you’re doing, they’re not scary at all.
Here’s how I did it.
Hardware:
Hex Key – This’ll depend on your faucet model, in my case it was a hex key. Yours might require a screwdriver.
Water Pump Pliers – There’s a few different names for these—channel locks, water pump pliers, etc. The pair I bought is nice because they’re self-adjusting, similar to clamps. Saves me having to figure out the right channel to use.
Tweezers – You can also borrow your wife’s beauty tweezers like I did, but thoroughly clean them when you’re finished.
Software:
Rotary Ball repair kit – This will be specific to your faucet brand. I replaced a few parts on mine, including the ball, so I got the kit that included everything. If you’re just replacing the seats and springs, there are sets that only include the springs, too.
Process:
- Turn off the water – This may seem like a no-brainer. Until you dismantle the faucet without doing it and take a spray of water to your face. Trust me on this, you don’t want the water on while you’re dismantling the faucet.
- Remove the handle – The process may differ depending on your model of faucet, but in my case it was a small hex head screw underneath the handle.
- Remove the cap, cam, & rotary ball – The cap will require your water pump pliers to at least loosen it, once it’s loose you can unscrew it with your bare hands. The cap covers the cam, which should just pull loose, and the rotary ball,
- Remove the seat & springs – Looking in the top of the faucet, you’ll see the seats, a small rubber O-ring, sitting on either side of the housing. Using your tweezers, pull them out, followed by the springs. Take note of which way the springs went out — they should be designed to only fit one way, usually the smaller end down and the larger end towards the spring.
- Reverse the process – Place your new springs in, followed by your new seats. Return the ball to the housing, place the cam back on top, and tighten down the cap to hold everything in place. Put your handle back on, turn the water back on, and test your faucet for drips. If you did it properly, you shouldn’t have that irritating drip anymore.
Disclaimer: Most DIY projects involve risk of some sort. Your tools, materials, and skills will vary, as will the conditions at your project site. The Hesitant Handyman has made every effort to be complete and accurate in the instructions provided on this content. The Hesitant Handyman will not assume any responsibility or liability for damages or losses sustained or incurred in the course of your project or in the use of the item you create. Always follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions in the use of tools, check and follow your local building codes, and observe all commonly accepted safety precautions.
