My Trip Lever Bathtub Won't Hold Water

[djohnson]

My tub would neither hold water nor drain properly. I used silicone grease on the face plate, which freed up the lever, so my tub drains well. This did nothing for the water leakage, so I also replaced the weighted drain assembly inside the pipe, and adjusted both the old and new assemblies millimeter by millimeter. No luck. The tub still won't hold water. I can feel the weight hit the lip of the overflow pipe bottom (I think), but at best I get a slightly slower loss of water. I would really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[havasu]

Those need to be adjusted just right to lock the seal. Try giving it another turn to tighten it.

 

[djohnson]

Thanks! Will do.

 

[djohnson]

Despite a whole lot of fiddling, the tub still won't hold water. Bright side: the shower drains much more quickly. This might be a job for a professional.
Thanks so much for getting back to me.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Just get one of those wide soft rubber disks to lay over the drain, to plug it up.

About $7.00, problem solved.

 

[djohnson]

Ha! I'm afraid I'm more interested in having the answer to the drain problem than having a bath.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Just convert to showers.

That way, you can even take a leak while getting clean, haha.

 

[slownsteady]

I haven't had much luck with those things. They are very finicky. Make sure the surfaces are clean, and maybe a little silicone grease around the surface

 

[Jeff Handy]

There are many different manufacturers and styles of those piston type plugs.

Yours is probably just a whisker too skinny.

Try a different style or vendor.

 

[djohnson]

Thanks to everyone for your excellent suggestions. Being a shower person, I'm happy with the speedy draining for now, and will noodle around with it some more if a bath is ever required.