Help needed - indentify bathtub fixture thats leaking

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Nicholas440

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Hello all,

I'm new here, and I wanted to replace a washer in my bathtub fixture as it was dripping slowly for some time now. I removed the knob and trim bezel, it was very hard to get the knob off because I believe it's been on for about 30 years or more. The house was built I think in 1952 , and when I took off the knob and trim, I knew I had a problem because I've never seen a faucet like this one. In the past I have changed a washer in a bathtub fixture, and I have a set of those deep socket tools to unscrew the stem, however this one is different.

This valve appears to be a cast brass large round piece that protrudes out of the wall slightly, and has a brass nut on the end that unscrews . Possibly the packing nut ? There is also a large hex nut that is part of the brass casting, I believe this is to hold onto with another wrench so you can unscrew the packing nut without twisting the entire fixture inside the wall. I took the brass nut off and I was going to insert one of the sockets and unscrew the stem, but the hole that is around the stem is only about a 5/8 diameter hole and if I look in there with a flashlight, the stem is very long, I'd say about 4 inches, and there is no nut down inside there to unscrew, so I'm at a loss on how to change this washer. , I have a few packs of assorted standard faucet washers, hopefully it uses a common flat washer like the one I did about a year ago for my brother.

I tried to count the number of splines on the end of the stem, and I may be wrong but I think I counted 16 splines. I was told that can tell you what the manufacturer of the fixture or stem is as well, since there is no name on it that I can see. I have enclosed some photos of the fixture so perhaps one of you who is familiar with these older units can tell me what make it is and how I get the washer out to fix the leak.


Thanks in advance for any help and info on this fixture.

Nick,
 

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Terry

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You have removed the bonnet nut. Have you tried spinning off the next part.
I would assume that you can put a socket on that and spin it out.

Nice pictures:)
 

hj

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You unscrew the large "hex" fitting. If it has a hex or flats on it, it unscrews. But put the packing nut back into it first or you may damage it and then you will need an entire stem unit. If it makes you feel any better, hardly any manufacturers put their name on their products.
 
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Nicholas440

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Thank you all for the reply's. I put the packing nut back in and unscrewed that large nut, and got the stem out. Yay for me, I feel like a real plumber now.. !

I do have a question on this stem however, the end of it that has the washer on it swivels around and it feels loose, however the screw that holds the washer in place was snug, and of course the washer has a deep ring worn in it from use over the years. I just wonder is that end piece supposed to swivel around loose? It wont pull off, and does not unscrew as far as I know so I assume the entire end part that holds the washer in is free to move as you open and close the faucet ?

Thank you for all your answers. Here is a photo of the stem. Maybe it is an American Standard?

stem A.jpg
 
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