Our sink has a typical drain assembly pictured here. The linkage seems connected, and the handle moves when I move the linkage. However, the stopper part of the drain itself does not move. How can this be? As I recall, the stopper rests atop a moving part that the linkage makes move up and down. Seems to me, it’s an all or nothing proposition. So, if the linkage can operate the handle up and down, why isn’t the stopper moving up and down, too?
Something may be stuck in the stopper itself that is keeping it from moving. Or there can be something stuck below the stopper. Can you pull the stopper out without disassembling everything? Sometimes a chunk of soap prevents my stopper from fully closing.
Sometimes the stopper is connected to the rod, sometimes it just sits on top of that connecting rod.
Stretch, thanks for your thoughts. Unfortunately, the stopper is connected to the lift mechanism. (I think I oversimplified this in my description.) Seems like I have no choice but disassemble the drain and see what’s going on. Personally, I think this is a dumb design. My parents house had drain stoppers you could pull straight out without any trouble. One would think this simple design would be standard. Why did someone have to go and overthink the drain? (If ain’t broke…)
On a lot of them (such as the one you linked to), you can unscrew where the rod goes into the drain, pull the pivoting rod back out of the way, and then lift the stopper out from the top. It’s not quite as easy as just pulling the stopper up but it’s not all that difficult.
The stopper will have a tab with a hole in it or something similar at the bottom. The end of the pivoting rod goes through the hole. With this type, the operating handle not only pushes the stopper up but also pulls it down, so it will close much more reliably.
If someone rotates the stopper they can sometimes pull the tab off of the end of the rod, effectively disconnecting it. The tab can also corrode and break. If someone uses too much force they can also bend or break the end of the rod.
ETA: Sometimes the tab is a separate piece that screws into the stopper. In this case, if someone rotates the stopper they can end up unscrewing the tab and disconnecting it from the stopper.
A picture is worth a thousand words:
A stopper with a screw-on tab:
A stopper with a permanently attached tab (much more common, in my limited experience):
Note that the tab is plastic and can be broken if too much force is used.
A diagram showing how it all goes together:
Engineer_Comp_Geek, thanks for the images and the diagram. I think the root of my problem is the screw at the top of the “strap and screw”. My screw is a thumb screw which cannot get tight enough to bite down on the rod (not pictured) which extends down from the handle (not pictured).
The thumb screw is far back under the sink. We tried tightening with a glove that has rubber gripper material on the palm for a better grip. We tried needle nose pliers, too. I could replace the whole drain assembly with new parts, but even a new thumb screw may present the exact same problem putting me right back where I started.
What else can we try? This shouldn’t be so difficult!
You said it’s hard to reach, but if it can be removed, perhaps you could replace the thumb screw with the same sized hex bolt. That can be made tight with a ratcheting box wrench or a 1/4" drive ratchet.
I’m going to recommend you just replace the whole drain. That rod with the ball in is not a standardized part so every mfr will use a different diameter. The drawing above shows a Delta and I know for a fact those won’t fit any other mfr.
If it’s chrome all the better. Find a plumbing supply place that’s not a home center and you’ll get a much higher quality piece.
Three point to add. On most designs the actual stopper, the part you see as you look down into the basin, will unscrew, leaving the shaft connected. You can do this to quickly assess what’s going wrong.
Next, while manufacturers often try to differentiate the size of the ball that holds the pivot rod, it’s an old invention, and it ain’t patentable. Any decent hardware stote can match most of them with ceaper aftermarket versions.
Finally, clear tailpieces are available, which makes a lot quicker to see blockages before they get bad, as are magnetic coupled stoppers, ome of which work pretty well.
I swear, I will never again listen to “Man of La Mancha” without thinking of this thread.
“… to move, the unmovable stopper…”
You can also purchase a “Clicker Drain” style stopper and tailpiece. They come in two styles, one for sinks with overflow, one for sinks with no overflow. Kohler “Premium Metal Clicker Drain with Overflow” part # RH1464524-CP at Home Depot $28.68 is one I just installed in a half bath to replace a traditional pop up. Home Depot has cheaper part plastic ones also. The pop up could not be adjusted to be high enough for reasonable draining, so the clicker type worked better. We also hope that the lack of lever in the tailpiece with reduce clogs. You do need to have wrenches and some plumbers putty to install. If you have a marble or synthetic stone sink, get “stainless” plumbers putty.
Thanks again, all, for your help. You were right in the first place as I was misinterpreting my observations. The bottom of the drain plug broke away. So the linkage was good, and the thumb screw was more than adequately tight. I was just being hard-headed. My bad!
We opened the P-trap, and we popped the drain plug up and out. We decided to close the P-trap back up and use a strainer that can sit atop the drain hole as a simple fix. I’m not really willing to tear the drain assembly apart to do it right.