Leaky Shower Arm

The joint between the shower arm and the plumbing in the wall has a small leak coming from it. I've got it hand tight with teflon tape on the threads and lined up at the correct angle. I tried turning one more revolution on it, but could only get it 1/4 turn farther. The leak did slow down after the 1/4 turn. Could I get away with that extra 3/4 of a turn with a wrench without hurting anything? Thanks for the help.

I have never done this so keep that in mind.

But I would try re-doing the Teflon tape. Do it nice and tight with three or so turns.

It is possible to wrap Teflon tape incorrectly so it starts to shred when you tighten it down and it should not be doing that.

I also put some pipe dope over Teflon as well. Seems to help.

How many wraps of teflon do you have on it?

Replace the shower arm. It sounds like the old arm failed. ( not an uncommon problem) When trying to remove the old arm it may break at the joint in the wall. In that case you will need a easy out to remove the remaining part of the arm before installing the new one.

John

Personaly when I install shower arms I don't use any wrenches...just my hands.

Be very wary of the replacement shower arms on the shelves. I couldn't get one to seal on either end last week with teflon tape despite trying several different ways. The threads were crap! None of them were cut properly, and not a single one on the shelves was any better (checked several stores). The threads were not cut deep enough and were essentially square. Since I didn't have a thread cutter that size I took it back. I put the old one back on easily and it sealed perfectly on the first try, both ends.