American Standard Bathtub Valve Removal

[NewbieHandyman]

Hi Everyone,

I have an American Standard bathtub with two separate valves for hot and cold water. This system was probably put in sometime in the 40's or 50's. My problem is that the faucet has been dripping for sometime. I have removed the handles from the valves but was unable to remove the nut that holds the stem in. I have purchased the valve removal sockets but the nut seems to not be one of the standard socket sizes. It looks like it is a 1" socket is what I will need, but I have no clue where to find one of these.

Could you please suggest a way to remove the nut or where I can buy these off size sockets possibly on the Internet?

Thanks,

Newbiehandyman

[jimbo]

A set of common shower valve wrenches available at any hardware store should do it. Remember, there is a smaller, outer nut which is just the packing gland, Do not remove this. You need a larger wrench which slides down over the larges part of the body of the stem assembly.

Make sure to turn off main water before starting.

Make sure to open the stem partway before trying to unscrew.

Once you get it out, take it to the parts store for an exact replacement, and make sure to get a new seat as well as the stem.