Shower valve question with PICS!

I have a friend whose shower valve appears to be going out on him. The handles are hard to turn and crunch when they close, like there's rust and crap in them. The house has been re-piped with copper up to just below the tub, so the shower valve itself has galvanized pipes run to it.

Can I change this valve out by going in through the back, or do I have to go in through the front? Does anyone know what kind of valve I need to get to swap this one out with a new one? Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

You probably can replace the guts of the valve from the front. If you have access to the back, you might want to replace the galvanized pipe with copper. If you do that, you might then want to replace the entire valve. Trying to get one that has the proper offset may be a problem. These usually don't have an individual shut off, so when you take it apart, you will need to shut of the main water to the house while you are fixing things. Note, it is probably best to that the guts of the valve to the plumbing supply house to help ensure you get the right parts. My unprofessional opinion.

I don't recognize your brand, but somebody will. On the front of the handles is a little cap. That either pries off or possibly is screwed. Under the cap will be the screw to hold the handle on. Then the flange behind the handle will unscrew. Now you can turn off the water main, remove a stem, and take it to a store for replacement parts.

You should definitely be able to overhaul this valve without cutting tile or getting in from the back side of the wall./

Thanks!

Hey guys, thank you for the opinions. I'll rebuild! Thanks again!

valve

I would like to see a picture with the handles off. But the flanges make it look like an American Standard valve with 'off the shelf' replacement handles. If so, you can buy new Aquaseal stems and seats, (and the correct handles), for it and have basically a new faucet.

chet if you can access thid body tjru the back wall and you plan to get rid of the last of the galv pipe, then go thru the back and change it all out. usually the replacement parts needed to fix a 2-v sb if your changing trim also cost more than a new valve. it looks from you pict that this is a normal 8" spread.