HELP! Can't get bathtub drain fixture removed

Help Someone!

I had a plumber over to clean my bathtub drain. When he removed the triplever plate and tried to remove the bucket and rod assembly, the assembly would not come out. He said he had never had this problem before. I've been spraying WD40 down the hole all week and it still will not budge.

He's saying he'll need to go behind the tub fixtures and remove parts of the wall to fix this. Is there another way to try an remove a stuck bucket and rod assembly.

Thanks.

You have a challenge on your hands. It is, even if the idea seems daunting, much easier to access the plumbing fittings from the other side of the wall. If there is no access panel in the wall in the adjoining room, you need to make one. This is helpful if any of the fittings need to be replaced in the future or if the drain gets clogged it provides a much easier place from which to snake or jet the drain.

In your case it will be necessary to access this to remove the barrel and rod unless you can grab them with a flexible grabber of some sort. But even if you can, you more than likely won't be able to remove it to replace it with a new assembly. If you can and it is still intact you could re-attach it to a new plunger lever assy. If your plumber has never had this happen, he hasn't been a plumber very long! How old is the house? It may be well worth it to replace the fittings.

stuck

You have done the vital first phase, which was to douse it with WD40 for an extended period. Now, go to someplace that sells a 1/'8" brass brazing rod. Bend the bottom end into a narrow "V" and the top into an "L". Slide the V down the overflow until it goes through the plug at the bottom, you should be able to feel the resistance, and then twist it and pull it up. You may have to try several times but eventually it will catch the "bail" on the top of the plug. When you are successful, gently tap upwards on your "L" handle and it should come loose. Actually it will come loose as soon as you can move it a 1/16", so any movement will be successful.