Can't Remove Tap Cartridge

[pulmicort1415]

Trying to remove tap cartridge from mixer tap.

Can't budge it even though no corrosion round it.

Have soaked it in WD40. No joy. Scared of doing damage

 

[CrapatCryptics2]

May we ask what brand

[Etch]

How much of the tap head have you been able to remove? A photo of the tap would help in giving advice. When I had a monoblock basin tap with a slow leak I couldn't even get the handle/lever off (after undoing the grub screw). Had to buy a complete replacement and even then getting the old one apart (out of interest) took some time.

[pulmicort1415]

Just the cover

 

[SparklyKid]

really need a piccy

[Khandro]

Try heat, boiling water at first, it may make the larger part swell enough to loosen it's hold.

If you are in a hard-water area, it's probably limescale in the thread.

[Etch]

The modern style mixer taps that I have experience of look like this:

https://media.takealot.com/covers_tsins/54726604/6009507823192-pdpxl.jpg

What does yours look like?

[bookbinder]

https://housewarm.co.uk/blog/plumbing/change-tap-cartridge/

[The Builder]

I imagine you mean the 'shroud', pulmi? This is one type........

https://www.notjusttaps.co.uk/spares-tap-handle-shrouds.html

Most just screw on (assuming there are no grub screws holding it on somewhere.)

Grab the tap body, hold on for dear life, then grip the shroud with soft-nosed pliers.....

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendationref=sr_1_5?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0_CQDtTXZBkkpcQc4ig6H1u7ZbTUAQbBBjmrETTNDy4-Ezs7nsVQGvGgCIlIyvD7zB9lVM5LiXqnrs3JKvc_Tkdm7wBkCkM2C72yLmQ8-ovpo7_M5fuhL3tTE9_V-DClku6rCJi5K9XwfhWWzQyAKzB0x_TXG8uwEqJFVtJ5Ha07MCwFhJTYyjfWVqFN8RVow2msIZeMNSB4e6SpMfBFlHzk3A-zyGHH7Y98p-opq22Uw9g4aijmnLDLcfGvPoyL1aQJVBL_kztpfzNEOskFWA6nhCGFH-Aa8Q73r1EskVA.XGUwKV1uvRHi2AMz3gZ4dlGm9YElu3Kmtt83ygWVrJk&dib_tag=se&keywords=soft+jaw+pliers&qid=1727453786&sr=8-5

If I've misunderstood, I agree with Sparkly. We do need a pic, or at least a make & model.

[pulmicort1415]

def not shroud. It's the cartridge itself

How do I post pic?

[Atheist]

I couldn't unscrew the cartridge from my kitchen tap, and was afraid to be brutal because I do not have a vanful of spares and tools and a plumber's mate and lots of experience. I called a plumber and he managed to unscrew it, with difficulty - he had better tools for the job than I had. Fortunately he was a decent chap and didn't charge a fortune. Since then I've changed a couple of cartridges myself, some of which have been hard to remove, but not quite as scaled up as my kitchen tap.

A good fitting spanner and some kind of lever extension might help (e.g. a bit of pipe which can accommodate the spanner arm).

 

[The Builder]

Ok. This sounds weird to describe, but I'll give it a shot.

Using either a spanner or a 'stilson wrench':

https://www.screwfix.com/p/magnusson-pipe-wrench-12-/281PR?gclsrc=aw.ds&;gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw0t63BhAUEiwA5xP54cNJ3AnYxldSlWKitLkCZnUxtToJIpjHJCW8C3gVEXadLqK38EcK9RoC960QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

... position the wrench jaws so the handle is just to the left of the spout, facing you. Grab both spout and wrench with both of your hands and squeeze them together. It may take a bit of practice I don't know if I've explained it well.

The idea is to free the cartridge without having to steady the tap body and stop it from rotating. Sounds silly, but I've done it many times.

Failing all that, something I learnt from my father (an engineer), is to 'shock' it off. Not for the faint-hearted though. Use a small steel 'cold chisel' and hammer a small notch in one of the flats of the cartridge body (the bit where the spanner fits). Then... lean the chisel over to the left.... and whack it hard and sudden. Usually works a treat.

Good luck  🤞

[Etch]

I'm not sure I understand The Builder's reference to "the flats of the cartridge body". In the two cases I have dealt with the cartridge is held in by an externally threaded retaining nut, shown between the cover and the cartridge in the DIAGRAM OF A MIXER TAP here:

https://www.tunnelvision.com.au/blog/how-to-fix-a-leaking-mixer-tap/

Once I had removed the nut, using a suitably sized socket, the cartridge simply lifted out of the tap body.

pulmicort1415 - you can't post a picture directly on AnswerBank, you need to upload it to an image sharing website, such as ImgBB, and then post the link to the picture in your answer:

https://imgbb.com/

 

[Etch]

The second YouTube video (How to Replace a Single Lever Mixer Tap Cartridge) in the link posted by bookbinder shows what I'm talking about very clearly.

[The Builder]

Etch... there are different types. Here's a universal cartridge...

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendationref=asc_df_B0921QW4HZ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9304648350293152699&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045340&hvtargid=pla-2281435177178&psc=1&mcid=07674b749f64397d9043235511e34065&hvocijid=9304648350293152699-B0921QW4HZ-&hvexpln=74&gad_source=1

Pulmi... maybe give us a make & model?

[The Builder]

Is it a 'monobloc?  That's different again.

[Etch]

The Builder - 'cartridge' made me think monobloc, because, to me, the other types of fittings (screw down or quarter turn) are 'glands' or, more simply, 'valves'.

Got to daughter's today and noticed a dripping washbasin tap (old style screw down that I fitted at the beginning of last year). Although not fully equipped for plumbing jobs I decided to see if it required my re-seating tool or if it was just the washer that needed replacing. Try as I might I couldn't remove the valve/gland from the tap body in situ (possibly the same problem pulmicort1415 is having) so ended up having to take the complete tap off the basin. Only then was I able to exert enough leverage to separate the valve from the body.

[The Builder]

My sympathies Etch. I've had to do that too at times. Remove tap body and put it in the vice.

We're going around in circles here until pulmi comes back with a pic or a make & model.  🤔

[davebro3]

are you screwing the right way? - anti-clockwise?🙂

[pulmicort1415]

Had to change whole thing

[Canary42]

How unfortunate, but it's often the way 😧.

Thanks for the update.