Master Bath ball faucet leaks-stem removal??

We have Delta faucets in master bath (10 years old) that have a slight leak near the stem, when you slightly press down on ball and turn the ball all the way up (to '12 noon'). Anyway, we are selling the house....don't want to replace the entire unit. Thought this would be an easy fix. Took off ball and white washer(?) around edge of stem...but stem seems locked in place. My wrench is not seemingly wide enough to twist off the hexagonal (and seemingly glued-on) part that attaches to rest of faucet under stem. So how do I take stem off? I assume it's a washer or O-ring that needs replacement but I can't check out where the leak is actually starting from if I can't get the stem removed somehow...

Many thanks.

You can adjust the pressure against the Delta ball valve by simply removing the handle (Allen wrench), inserting the tips of a pair of needle-nose pliers in the two slots of the white plastic ring around the inside of the ball cover, and slowly turning the adjusting ring clockwise until the leaking stops.
You don't even have to turn the water off for this adjustment. In fact, you want the water and the faucet ON so that you can see when it stops leaking as you adjust it.
Don't over-tighten the adjusting ring because it will make the handle too hard to operate.
If adjusting doesn't do it, it just needs new seats-and-springs (that seal against the ball inside the faucet), which are inexpensive and easy to install. We can walk you through that, too. Use only Delta parts.
Good Luck!
Mike

Can't seem to turn the adjusting ring any more...and it still leaks slightly, especially when you apply gentle pressure downward on the stem/ball.

Am I using the right lingo? Is this a Delta ball-type faucet (as it seems to be shaped like a ball, albeit maybe a slightly hexagonal shape.)
Do I need new seats-and springs then? Can you walk me through that installation? How much do you figure it will cost?

Many Thanks!

Replacing the rubber seats and springs will only fix a "drippy" faucet. Your leak is not inside the sink, but around the faucet handle-which is above the sink. It's probably the black seal that sits on top of the ball stem that needs replacing. You should be able to buy a Delta repair kit for only a few bucks at the local hardware store. Bring your parts in to the store, so you can match them up.

The reason you can't pull out the stem is because there is a large retaining nut that you have to remove. Use a channel locks to remove this nut.

Make sure that the water is turned off before removing the stem retaining nut or you'll be very wet.

Ok, thanks. Here's the picture of the type of Delta faucet. Once I remove the handle and I am looking at the stem, all I need is channel locks to get under the stem? It doesn't look like I have a nut to remove once I am looking around the stem....just a seemingly glued part of the faucet?


http://www.azpartsmaster.com/shopazp/Bathroom+Faucets+-+Delta+Single+Handle+(DLT502WF).html

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I am confused by your saying you removed the handle and the white washer. The white washer is under the chrome cap, not under the handle. If you removed a hexagonal stem adapter, then you may not have a true Delta faucet. The only hex cap that Delta used is one that is not supposed to freeze to the faucet body. In any case, do not go overboard with the wrench or you will wind up buying a new faucet. My solution is to buy a new cap, then heat the old one a bit at a time until the cap comes loose and unscrews. Repair the faucet and use the new cap.

all that I removed is the cap, screw and ball handle. Now I am looking at the stem, which is surrounded by a white washer(? w/3 divot marks.) I can twist off this white washer piece, but I am now looking at the stem....trying to get under it to see what needs to be removed (washer, etc.) But there is nothing easy to 'unscrew'; around the perimeter of where the washer was, there is the silver hexagonal-shaped part of the faucet that seems 'glued' on to the rest of faucet. Is that what I need to unscrew with a larger wrench (channel locks)?

Turn the water off. Now that the handle is off, remove that big dome shaped cap. Don't pinch it. Curved jaw not flat jaw Channel Locks will do a good job of turning that chrome cap. Not the short Channels but the next one longer.

Go to the hardware and get the Delta kit for that faucet and get a new ball for it too. Grease up the moving parts and put grease on the threads inside the cap also. It won't cost you much at all........

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YOU are not describing a Delta faucet, so without a picture we cannot tell you how to proceed.