Installing a new kitchen faucet - I am going to rip the sink OUT!!! going postal!!!

[miamicuse]

OK after I spent a lot of time dis-assembling an old corroded kitchen faucet here is a new one I am installing.

Everything is smooth, I lowered the faucet (has two water supply tubes and a pull out spray) so I got the washer and the big but and I tighten it from below where your whole body is twisted into this unbearable form inside the cabinet and under the waste pipes and garbage disposal so you can see just a little bit what you are doing. You try your best to tighten this big nut and when you are done you hook everything up and open the water and good - water out.

So you turn on turn off a few times and the faucet is sort of heavy and after a few times it starts to wobble a bit. So you get under the sink and strange enough the big nut you tightened is now loose so you tighten it again. Try again and after a few times you have to go under to tighten it again. There is no leverage there to use any wrench, well even my biggest adjustable wrench won't be big enough and even if it were, there is no room to turn one degree.

I am now all wet and sweaty. I cut myself from disassembling the old faucet. I am seriously considering removing the sink so I can get to the faucet bottom to really tighten it. Now what I will do with the double sink after it is removed I am not sure. I don't know what else to do, the faucet is a nice one - Jado single lever with a pull out spray.

Any suggestions?

MC

[DanG]

You could go buy a cheap or good basin wrench made for the project:

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Joey]

MC,

Sounds like you need a basin wrench which is made just for that purpose. I too have a hard time getting under the sink so I just clear everything out and stack old pillows up until it feels confortable. Having the right tools is very important in what you're doing. I wouldn't attempt it without the correct tools. IF you've never done this before, I would stop and go to Home Depot or Lowes and find a faucet similar to the one you're installing. Ask someone there to show you what tools are needed and how it's done. Good luck.

J

[Speedy Jim]

You may be right to pull the whole sink. Typically that "big" nut does not leave room even for a basin wrench to grip it. And the nut must be **real** tight, or else....

It will be a project though. The sink rim, the countertop, the disposal and waste piping.

Sit back and have a cold one.

Haven't considered it before, but would it be worthwhile making a "wrench" to hold the nut while spinning the faucet body to tighten?

Jim

[oren]

That will go over like a fart in a space suit.

Oren

"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."

[miamicuse]

I have a basin wrench, but this kitchen double sink is so deep and tight the basin wrench does not work either. There is so little room and leverage.

MC

[miamicuse]

I have a basin wrench, no luck because the nut is large and thin and sink big and deep. I am barely able to squeeze in between the cabinet bottom and bottom of garage disposal.

I went to HD and got another gadget, a set of five hollow pipes that are hex shape on one end for shower socket. I came back and guess what? The biggest one will not fit this nut by a hair. So I went back to HD and finally was able to find a but with same inner diameter but smaller outer diameter that will fit inside the hollowed pipe wrench.

Problem solved right?

No...

I took the hollowed out pipe and the nut fits. So I drop the faucet through the hole and went under and slid the tubes through the hollow pipe wrench and guess what? By the time the pipe is within like 0.1 inch of the threaded bottom of the faucet, it stopped...why? Because the bottom of the faucet has three tubes - the hot water tube, the cold water tube and the pull out spray tube. So the end of those tubes have wider female nuts on their ends and they will not go through the hollow pipe. They were able to be pushed through the hole in the sink beause I can "finesse" each one through a thin hole, but I cannot shove them all into a hollow pipe, and I need room even with that to slide the rod through to turn.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH PLEASE HELP ME PLEASE HELP ME BEFORE I TAKE OUT MY RIFLE AND SHOT THIS SINK TO PIECES!!!!!!!!!!!!

MC

[Mark]

maybe you can remove just the garbage disposal and that will give you enough room...

they go in a nd out pretty easy...

Mark

[Al Bundy]

Maybe try contacting the faucet maker. There is a wrench that fits. It might not be worth it to purchase for one installation. Could a friendly plumber loan you one? I have made my own before, but it's a labor intensive job requiring donor parts. Those shower drain wrenches are made to crazy sizing aren't they? You could take the one that is closest on the small side and make a slit in the wrench to open it up slightly. That should allow enough torque to tighten the nut even weakened by the slit. (Use a hack saw or tiny cutoff wheel to make a slit. Then twist a flathead screwdriver in the slit to open it.)

[BobK207]

you've a very difficult task at hand. A deep sink mounted close to the wall makes it very hard tighten the nut.

Comfort (as much as possible) is important to getting this done.

I hear you on the collection of sockets & wrenches that will NOT fit or provide very little leverage. BTDT

Having a helper to hold the top assembly in place would help. Also clock the faucet at about4 or 5 o'clock so that truing up the faucet body tightens the nut further.

You get it close to tight & the helper (or you after switching palces) tightens it further

I recommend against removing the sink

cheers Bob

[launcher]

Ain't plumbing fun?

If it's a Jado faucet, it's made by Grohe and most of their pullout faucets come with either nuts with screws that can be tightened with a screwdriver or a revolving shaft that is tightened from above with a plastic tool that they provide with the faucet. If not, then all you can do is figure out a way to tighten it from below and remember how easy this little job was the next time you hear someone complain about plumbers charging too much.

-The Plumbinator

[No]

You would be done by now if you just removed the sink. No big deal really. Take just a few minutes unless its epozied in or something. you can then be assured you have a good proper job when you are complete.

[hwm54112]

I would pull the sink. Since you don't want to do that, you could:

cut off the female nuts, install the faucet and solder the nuts back on with slip couplings or

drill holes in nut at points (if not already there), stick an ice-pick in holes and tap side of shaft of icepick with hammer while holding handle of icepick. it will tighten rite up.

[miamicuse]

Jim:

I sort of used your suggestion.

I cut a piece of wood triangular in shape, sort of matching the space between the nut edge and the cabinet wall. I then drilled a hole into the wood and thread a steel rod I have laying around. I wedged the piece of wood from below to "jam" the space so the nut will not be able to turn from below, as I ask a friend to turn the faucet in reverse direction on top. After a few tries it seem to do the trick.

MC