The leak in my kitchen faucet finally got to me, and today I bought a little kit of parts to fix it. It’s a single-lever Delta faucet. Here’s a link to a repair that looks like mine.
After taking it apart I had a very hard time getting it re-assembled. We’re talking hours and lots of cussin’.
Eventually I got it back together, but now the water runs continuously and won’t shut off. When I move the faucet to the off position it just slows down a bit.
I washed the dinner dishes by turning the water on and off under the sink.
Could I have put the little ball/stem thing in backwards? Everything looked correct. What should I do?
A couple things come to mind (not a plumber, but I’ve done sink repair myself):
It would be hard to put the stem thing in backward. Did you replace the little round seals (on the ends of the springs) ? If so, it is important that the springs still push them up (sometimes the new seals will get stuck in the hole, and the springs will by trying, but not really pushing them up against the ball).
More likely, it sounds like you may not have screwed down the top (chrome) cap down enough. The top cap needs to be pushing down on the white/yellow ring which holds the ball/stem thing against the seals. If this is loose, water will leak around the seals.
Plumbing tends to be a pain because of the corrosion and gunk that can build up. But when it comes right down to it, it really isn’t that complicated. The mechanisms are straightforward (something is holding the water back, except when the lever is in the desired position).
I did replace the springs and seals, but perhaps improperly.
The top cap was the real problem. With the washer and shield over the ball stem, I had a hell of a time pushing down the cap hard enough to meet the threads. But I guess I’ll have to take it off and try again…
