Looking for advice on replacing old shower diverter but maybe too old.

[justadude]

Hi guys,

Looking to replace an old shower diverter. Pictures attached. I'm from Australia if that makes any difference.

Originally when i got the house years ago there was a note to be careful when turning the shower diverter too hard. Eventually this happened and it started leaking from the tap at the bottom. This eventually affected the water pressure on the shower head so decided to get it fixed.

I had one plumber look at it and he said he needed to source the part but he took ages and in the end gave up. The second plumber looked at it and said straight away you can't fix it and you need to rip out the whole system but he did some hack to stop it from leaking as a stop gap that lasted a while. A full reno it not an option at the moment so I eventually decided to take it apart (i have not knowledge of plumbing) and figured out how it worked and replaced the washer to fix it for a while longer. The problem from what i can tell is the nut at the end of the stem is just holding on and if you turn it hard enough it will eventully wear off. Other problem is i can't find washers to fit it so i hack some silicone washers to size.

Does anyone know if this can be replaced with a newer type of stem? I've notice the thread for the diverter is finer than the hot and cold stems. I've tried searching but not having much luck. At least i think its called a stem

There also aren't any markings on it. The hot and cold stems have some markings and "N1136" comes up with search so i think i can replace them with new ones but it doesn't fix the main problem.

Thanks for any advice in advance.
Cheers

 

[Ric2013]

You only turn the nut when changing a washer though? I'd use a small socket rather than a flat spanner, but I'm thinking it may never fail as you barely need it more than finger-tight, perhaps with a spot of thread-lock. Though I suspect you'll tell me that the nut gets pulled on when you turn the tap to fully on or off and this puts it under strain?

If it weren't for that, I'm thinking if the tap is kept lubricated with silicone grease and descaled every 5 years you will find it all works more smoothly and I get the impression you should be able to use it for many more years, seeing as you seem to understand it, without it really needing any parts except O rings and washers.

As for too old, it is hard to say without meeting you, but there is no indication from your post that suggests you won't be able to keep this up for the forseeable future.

 

[justadude]

You only turn the nut when changing a washer though? I'd use a small socket rather than a flat spanner, but I'm thinking it may never fail as you barely need it more than finger-tight, perhaps with a spot of thread-lock. Though I suspect you'll tell me that the nut gets pulled on when you turn the tap to fully on or off and this puts it under strain?

If it weren't for that, I'm thinking if the tap is kept lubricated with silicone grease and descaled every 5 years you will find it all works more smoothly and I get the impression you should be able to use it for many more years, seeing as you seem to understand it, without it really needing any parts except O rings and washers.

As for too old, it is hard to say without meeting you, but there is no indication from your post that suggests you won't be able to keep this up for the forseeable future.

In theory yes and yes. while you can be careful it normally happens by accident. The other problem i forgot to mention is there are no threads to screw a protective face on it like the hot and cold taps so i silicone around the face to keep it from getting wet. so its not as simple to take apart. Have not thought of a better way to keep it waterproof the face without silicone the whole piece.

Yes you could be right, as long as i keep it up i could deal with it as i am doing now but would be nice to just replace the whole part without pulling the whole thing out.

 

[Ric2013]

The other problem i forgot to mention is there are no threads to screw a protective face on it like the hot and cold taps so i silicone around the face to keep it from getting wet. so its not as simple to take apart. Have not thought of a better way to keep it waterproof the face without silicone the whole piece.

A protective face?

 

[justadude]

A protective face?

what ever this piece is that you attach on the front. when i took it apart first time there was siliconeall around it almost filling most of the inside. I removed most of it to get a proper look but that was the only thing holding it in place. The hot and cold stems has threads so its easy to unscrew them on and off.

 

[Ric2013]

what ever this piece is that you attach on the front. when i took it apart first time there was siliconeall around it almost filling most of the inside. I removed most of it to get a proper look but that was the only thing holding it in place. The hot and cold stems has threads so its easy to unscrew them on and off.

Yeah. It's a shroud. Essentially decorative. It's really weird if there aren't threads for it as that suggests something has been replaced in a way that isn't original.

Tap shrouds are annoying: very often water gets behind them and festers, but it is only very old or old-style taps that are designed not to have them. But modern taps look awful without the shrouds fitted, so I can see why yours has one!

 

[justadude]

Yeah. It's a shroud. Essentially decorative. It's really weird if there aren't threads for it as that suggests something has been replaced in a way that isn't original.

Tap shrouds are annoying: very often water gets behind them and festers, but it is only very old or old-style taps that are designed not to have them. But modern taps look awful without the shrouds fitted, so I can see why yours has one!

Ah.. i see. yes very odd and at this point frustrating.