Hot & Cold Stem Threading

[Will Zavala]

I'm having trouble unscrewing the cold water stem from a two-handle shower faucet. After working from the back and trying to unscrew with a pipe wrench and other wrenches, I ordered the proper (21/32") shower stem socket wrench. Was excited when it arrived, but alas it is not budging, and beginning to strip the hex head.

Before I go any further... which direction should I be turning?! My hot water turns on counter-clockwise, and my cold turns on clockwise. Do those directions correspond with threading on the stem base?

 

[Terry]

Stems are installed clockwise and removed counter clockwise.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[DIYorBust]

I've been dealing with this a lot lately. For some reason these shower wrenches are very poorly made. I happened to get a really good set once at a hardware store when I was helping out a family member. I left it with them, and I've never found another set like it. I'm going to try using a deep socket with a strap wrench this time. This is the item I will use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R42ZLQ8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has the corners cut out to avoid rounding off the bonnet nut. My advice is to make a careful plan. If the replacement fails, you won't be happy.

 

[hj]

The directions the handles turn has NOTHING to do with how you remove them. They remove counterclockwise, ALWAYS.

 

[DIYorBust]

I got my socket today and wanted to report that it worked like a dream. It did set me back ten bucks, but compared to the hassle and expense of rounding off the stem, or damaging the valve that seems pretty cheap. I had a strap wrench so I didn't have to buy that, but they are not expensive and useful for other tasks. I have 8 stems of this type so the socket will probably see more use. The strap wrench did slide a little but in the end that may have helped limit the torque and avoid damage. I probably could have tightened the strap a little more if I needed the extra torque, but it the stem yielded relatively quickly to the well fitting socket. Here's a picture of my tools. I replaced it with a brand new stem since I knew the type from last time and bought a few extras. Valve seat appeared serviceable so I didn't mess with that this time, the washer on the stem appeared to be the failed component. All done and no more drip drip drip! Total job time was about 15 minutes. Hope someone finds this helpful.

I should mention that the stems fit through the hole where you attach the socket wrench. This was a 1/2" type socket. However this meant I couldn't use a socket wrench, hence my decision to use a strap wrench. A very long socket might work with the socket wrench, they can be expensive and hard to find. If the stem is really stuck and the strap won't budge it, I think a small pipe wrench on the socket would provide enough torque to either break it loose, or damage something.