Bath/Shower Valve Not Turning Off Bath Water

My bath gets water when I turn the valve open to use the shower. I just went to ACE and the helpful hardware man sold me a new washer, but is still has the problem. Anyone have any ideas? Thank You!

Your diverter is failing or has failed. To turn on the shower do you:

a. lift a button on top of your tub spout
b. pull the bottom of the tub spout straight down at the point that the water comes out
c. push in a button or turn a lever on the escutcheon of the control valve located just under the handle
d. turn the center of 3 handles
e. other

Thanks for replying to my post. I... "d. turn the center of 3 handles"

The Ace guy sold you a washer, you came home pulled the diverter stem, replaced the washer, put it all back together and it still leaks, is that about right?

Yes that is exactly what I did.

Did you inspect the diverter stem at the place where the washer sits to make sure there were no pits, chips, or cracks? Did you carefully inspect the valve seat for the same?

I am not seeing any pits or corrosion if I am looking at the right parts.

have you always known it to do this or just recently?

It has been doing this since we moved in the house in 1992.

Here is a picture

It may be possible that you do not even have the proper diverter valve. Periodically I will come across this situation where someone has installed the wrong stem. It may be the correct manufacturer but not the correct model. I would determine the correct diverter stem for that faucet and replace it (even if the one in it is correct). Also occasionally I will find where someone has tried to install a stem from a completely different manufacturer (why it didn't leak around the forced cross threaded threads I will never know). If the threads are damaged you have big trouble and need a pro. If the threads are ok replace with the proper stem. You also need to make certain that there is no damage to the valve seat. They are made of brass, require a seat wrench to remove, and can be very difficult to remove so if you can avoid it refrain from trying to remove it. However if it is damaged you will never stop the leak without replacing it. If the seat is involved you should consider calling a pro.

usually the valve shuts off the water to the tub faucet forcing the water up and out the shower. There is a small venturi the water goes through, but if that gets plugged the water stops, it is there to make the water go to the tub unless the water is stopped by the diverter, you could have the wrong stem, if it's not seating properly, did it ever work? If it did, then did you remove the seat the valve washer closes on? Maybe the seat fell apart. The three valve systems with washers are simple, the washer is not seating to stop the flow to the tub. It looks like the washer on the stem in the picture has never seated, it should have a small ring dented into it once it seats. I think that washer should be flatter instead of cone shaped.

tricky said:

Here is a picture

Click to expand...

I just saw this post. I am not certain but I believe this is a Price Pfister diverter stem. Do you know who the manufacturer is? If it is then it has the wrong washer and should have a flat washer. You might try installing the proper washer and trying again before replacing the stem.

Thank you guys for the advice, I'll try what you advised and see what I can do. Thanks again.