In the bathroom of my apartment, the drain of the bathtub is the old-stlye kind where there is a tab mounted just under the tap, which you flip to open or close the drain. Well, mine has been screwed up since I moved in (over a year ago). The problem is is that the drain will not stay open. I push the tab down, the drain opens, but the second I let it go it flips back up and closes. In order to take a shower, I have to wrench it in all directions until it finally sticks in a spot where it is held open. But if I do so much as drop a bar of soap, it flips right shut again. It is driving me CRAZY. I would like to call the maintenance man, but he would have to rip out the plumbing to get at the inner mechanism, and I doubt it would be fixed in a day. Is there some way I could fix it myself, if only temporary? Any suggestions?
A rubber doorstop jammed under the drain lid would hold it open.
If you don’t plan on using the bathtub often, you can simply remove the entire mechanism. Remove the two screws on either side of the lever and carefully pry the plate off. Once this comes off, the entire thing should come right out. You can bend and remove the Cotter pins that holds the linkage to the lever and remove the linkage, then replace the cover with the two screws. Replacing it is just as easy. The maintenance person should be able to get a new one and install it for you with little difficulty.
Good idea, but I can’t reach the drain lid. There is a metal hair trap in place that seems to be permanently fixed to the bathtub.
What about lifting the little tab and then fixing it in place? I’m thinking either hot glue, caulk, or solder.
The lever hinge point is loose. On the other end of the lever is an adjustable brass rod which is connected to a brass sleeve. With the lever up, the brass sleeve drops into a hole in the drain pipe blocking the water. I would try squeezing the tabs at the hinge point gently with a pair of pliers. There should be some remnants of the original protrusions designed to hold the lever in the down position. The lever assembly itself can be easily changed, but be careful about pulling the brass sleeve up to far, it is a real PITA to get back in. A replacement lever assembly will cost around $5 at a major big box home improvement store.
Thanks for the advice! I think I’ll try the suggestion on fixing it first, and if that doesn’t work I have no qualms about ripping the whole damn thing out.
You could hold it down with duct tape.
I once had an apt with a similar deal. Retentive landlord preferred that I not rip it apart to fix it. I’d loosely clamp a pair 'o Vice Grips on the tab to weight it down 'til it was empty.
The good news is, that landlord is probably dead by now. 
bp