leaking bathtub

[micky]

It appears** my bathtub has sprung a leak between the hot and/or cold water valves, the ones the bather uses, and the tap/spigot.

This seems like it would be terribly uncommon??? have you heard of it before. The distance from the valves to the spigot is so short. And there have been no earthquakes and no evidence of the house settling except one crack in a narrow section of sheet rock that occurred 20+ years ago and is not wider than 20 years ago.

Any chance of just doing a repair, rather than ripping out the whole set of valves and tap?

**When I stop the tub and run the water, it drips into the room below. But when I put water in the tub some other way and then let it drain out, there is no dripping.

[Thomas]

Crank that faucet off and retape.

[Bod F]

Sure! Just tighten up the leaky pipe(s).

[micky]

=========================

I should have said that they are copper and soldered,

[Clare Snyder]

Is the back of the wall exposed? Can you open up the back of the wall (opposite the tub) to see where the leak is?

Got pics?? I had to reeplace mine - thankfully the tub backs on a linen cl;oset and I was able to open the wall and replace it without disturbing anything in the tub area.

[Mark]

I just had my valve cartage replaced for the same problem. The seal broke on the cartage and allowed water to flow out towards the handle , then back through the trim pipe / peace and back into the wall ( hard to explain ) Try removing the handle with the water running and see if its leaking.

[Richard Trethooie]

What are you waiting for, ObamaPlumbingCare to come out and fix it free of charge? Just re-solder the leaking joint.

[micky]

I should have said that it has the tub-spout/shower diverter right between the separate hot and cold valves, and I thought that was often sold, even in 1979, already assembled.

No, that's the shower.

So iow, yours did leak like I think mine is leaking, between the hot or cold valve and the spout?? That was the gist of my question, since the distance is so short. In fact iirc that's often sold already assembled.

[TimR]

Repack the stem.

It's the valve that's leaking, not the pipe.

[Clare Snyder]

No, the diverter valve in mine was leaking and being about 45 years old when I went to replace it part of the brass casting crumbled and it was impossible to repair so I had to take it out and replace it. It was a bad diverter valve that "spaywned" the problem.

[micky]

It it were the stem packing, wouldn't it leak out the stem, under the handle, and then drip straight into the tub or down the outside of the wall and then into the tub?

[Clare Snyder]

In an ideal world - yes.

But yours is NOT an ideal world!!!!!!

Easy to check and confirm though in this case.

[micky]

Okay, I'll check.

Thanks, thanks Mark, and thanks all.

[Mark]

That is what happened to me the stem ( cartage ) was leaking but the water would then run back into the wall between the stem and the chrome trim that is around the stem. Replacing the cartage fixed it.

[Mark]

When I say chrome trim I am talking about the chrome tube that's goes around the stem.

[Clare Snyder]

Same happened with mine, it was a "pull" diverter - ended up replacing with a "turn" diverter. If the diverter valve leaked from the stem water COULD get into the wall via that trim tube.