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The faucet i think needs a washer but can not loosen the nut to take apart. The faucet begins to turn and am afraid of breaking it off. It goes into the wall in the front of the house. How can I get the nut to loosen. The house is about 40 years old and I guess the faucet has been there the whole time. I've lived here 12 years.
Can you help? |
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Hi Judy,
Are you talking about the packing nut that is "behind" the handle, just after the shaft and the leading edge of the brass?
Have you tried using two wrenches, one to hold the faucet in place while you try to loosen the nut? Ya see the monkey wrench I'm holding in my right hand? perhaps a slightly smaller version to hold the faucet while you try to turn the nut. 
Also, consider using some penetrating oil before you try again. Your local hardware store will be able to supply the penetrating oil... and probably some good and friendly advice too for an extra quarter or 50 cents.
Good luck and be careful! |
| I thing I am talking about the packing nut. I have tried to find a diagram of an outside faucet but no luck. I just know that I can't get it to turn. Is penatrating oil different from wd-40? |
Here is a diagram -- note that in this pic (purloined from the web  ) they call it a bonnet nut.
Yes, penetrating oil is different than WD-40. It's supposed to penetrate better! 
Here's a bunch of pics of different brands. Note the WD-40 that shows up isn't penetrating oil, they're talking about the straw holder! LOL
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS251US251&q=penetrating+oil
Again, your local hardware (or if you MUST your Home Depot/Lowes/whatever) will show you what works.
When you go to make the repair, don't forget packing material! |
Thank you so much for the diagram. I could not find one anywhere. I guess it is the nut below the handle. I will get some penatrating oil tomorrow and give it a good soaking. Maybe I will get lucky.  Thank you so much for your help.
Judy |
| Since it is an outdoor faucet it may be at a different angle, but unless it has a fancy anti-siphon setup, all the parts are the same; the stem might be quite long to shut the water off way back inside the basement. |
| no basement, just goes thru brick to bedroom wall. That is why I was afraid of breaking it. |
Hmmm. You're going to need to turn the water off before the faucet before you start the job anyway, otherwise you'll have a face full of water.
If you can't find a shutoff for the branch or the individual line, there should be a main shutoff near the meter. |
| The only turn off I know of is to the whole house. It is right below the faucdt in the ground. |
| If that is the only one, then that's the one you'll need to shut off. |
Thanks, I am eager to get the oil you said so I can get started. I will have to go back and look it up. I can't remember the name of it now.  |
Hi, me again. Guess what? I used the penetrating oil and got the faucet handle off. I did replace the washer and put it back on and it worked!! I took the part that came off to a plumbing shop to replace the whole thing and as soon as I walked in they saw what I had in my hand and was already shaking their heads NO. It is too old but a washer did work. I would love to replace the whole faucet but I don't know how to get it out of the brick wall. What is against the brick is a large flat round disk that seems tight to the wall. I can't see how to take the whole faucet body off and replace but at least I don't leak right nowl
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!   I would not have been able to do it without you.
Judy |
Woo hoo! 
Congratulations! I'm very proud of you!
Did you put new packing material in under the nut?
I really can't be sure without seeing it, but I'd GUESS that the faucet is soldered into place. If it isn't soldered, then it is threaded and you might be able to replace it by unscrewing it and screwing on a new one (with teflon tape added to the male threads first.)
How much did it turn when you were first trying to loosen the nut?
However the first rule of plumbing is.... don't fix it if it ain't broken, or about to break! |
| It did not really turn so I guess I was imagining that part. Is there a way a could send you a close up pic of the faucet? You might be able to tell more if you saw it. Another question not related to the faucet: My comade will flush properly if you hold down the handle for an extra few seconds before releasing it. I have replaced the flapper but it did not make a change. Got any ideas for me on this one? So far I have repaired the back outside faucet, just needed new packing and the front, replaced the washer, with you help. |
Do you mean that you must hold the handle to make it work otherwise it doesn't complete the flush... it just stops dumping water into the tank way too early?
Have you tried making the chain that goes to the flapper shorter? |
| yes, if you don't hold the handle down it will not complete the flush and refill the tank. |
Have you tried shortening the chain (or whatever) that goes to the flapper?
Look to see how it is operating when it is full. When the handle pulls it up, why doesn't it go backwards far enough?
Is the metal lever not in the right position? Sometimes it can be rotated 90 degrees so it pulls the flapper up from behind slightly.
Is the flapper hitting something behind it?
But I'd start with ensuring that the chain is short enough so that the flapper seats easily without the chain becoming taut, but not much longer than that. |
