Shower mixing valve

[tommy h]

ok where do i start
normally i would call my plumber,however i live in one of the hardest hit area's that sandy destroyed and the plumber i use, is too busy to deal with this.and for that matter ,you just cant get a plumber right now. so.....................i would like to repair this valve........a little history first.
1) for years now, we have been getting hot water out of the cold faucets for about 30 seconds (the house has 2.5 baths and 1 kitchen)
2) the mixer valve displayed does not work consistantly, you must constantly move the handle around to get a comfortable water temperature
3) the toilet bowl always has hot water in it,and runs constantly (not full blast) but you can hear the water flowing slightly.
4)when i shut the hot water main off in the basement,( for this particular bathroom) cold water still comes out of the faucet ,(when i turn the hot knob on the sink or the adjoining tub we also have in this bathroom ,.............. i would think no water should come out if i shut the hot main off in the basement?

ive been laid off for a while now, and what i noticed hanging around the house, is the oil burner is constantly going,and oil is too darn expensive to be wasting, so heres my questions, do you think i will be able to repair this?( has to be 40years old i would say) and secondly ,those slotted head screw on the unit are not going to come out easy,any tips on how to get them out would be great. i'm thinking a torch ? well that's it for now thank's
tommy h

[jadnashua]

Let's address #3 first...FIX the toilet! Either the fill valve is not shutting off and water is going out the overflow tube into the tank, or the flapper valve is shot, leaking water into the bowl. The fact that this is getting hot water makes it a double-whammy, wasting water, and energy to heat it. It's getting hot from (likely) that shower valve, but it might be another single-handle valve in the house that has an internal leak and generating the cross-connection. To help isolate where the problem is, wherever you have a single handle valve and have shutoff valves to it, shut the hot off. Then, after purging the lines, see if the cross-connection is now gone. If it is, you know that valve has an internal cross-connection and needs work (often a new cartridge). I'm not very familiar with identifying various brands, and can't tell you how to fix that one or even if parts are available. If you can get to the back of that valve (say from a closet or something), I'd be more inclined to just replace the whole thing with one that will meet current codes. You can legally repair an old one if you can find the parts, though. PBlaster is a spray penetrating lubricant that might help with the screws. Don't try to loosen them without a big enough flat-blade screwdriver, though. It should fit in there tight and be at least the full width of the screw to have the best chance of removing them without destroying them. Most people use whatever screwdriver they have, and then muck up the head - it's sort of amazing how well it works when you use the right-sized tool!

[tommy h]

i posted the shower so you can see what i'm dealing with :circular tiled ,5 shower head's,something from the 70's i would say.
there is no way to access the valve ,except from the front
2) after turning off the hot main for this bathroom : all other bathrooms and kitchen no longer have issues(the hot and cold faucets work as they should
3)you might find this weird ,but the toilet no longer runs constantly like it was , only cold water is going to it now,and for some reason that problem is rectified,so i only have cold water in there right now.
hey and thanx for the timely response,
tommy h

[jadnashua]

Well, that certainly complicates things! Replacing a valve is usually either done from behind if you have access, or by making the hole bigger in the front and using a 'remodel' or rennovations plate to now cover the larger hole. But, that is expecting a flat surface. From the colors, it might be even older than that - my mother's house uses those colors and was built in the early 50's. Hopefully, someone recognizes that valve and parts are still available, otherwise, it will be a much bigger issue fixing it, probably with a valve replacement. If you're really lucky, you might find some replacement trim, but that may be asking too much.

[tommy h]

well jim, my wife's been wanting a new bathroom,so this may be the straw, i just dread the thought of having to haul this thing out of the house, not to mention 20k it's gonna cost for a new bathroom,
maybe somebody else has an idea.......thanx again ! oh by the way the house was built in 58 so perhaps this is the original bathroom !

[tommy h]

http://www.terrylove.com/forums/show...-Valve-leaking