Moen Shower Valve - When to Replace

[Cole Man]

Tried searching for an answer to this, but came up empty.

House is 37 years old. The shower valve is a Moen pull and turn. I'm fairly certain that this valve is original to the house. How long do these valves last? I don't see any leaks, but would like to be proactive and prevent any leaks by replacing the cartridge. If that's not necessary, I won't bother. I can't find a part number anywhere, so I don't even know if replacement cartridges for this model are available, but I would think that they are given that this is a developer special and probably in a bazillion homes.

Thanks.

[Ashton Crusher]

Mine aren't that old but they are getting close and of the 6 in my house I've had to replace two of them. I thought they were lifetime guarantee so next time one goes I'm going to call Moen and see if they will send a free replacement. I've gotten several free parts for my kitchen Price-Fischter lifetime faucets from PF.

[Frank]

Mine is of that vintage and still OK. I'm the only one that uses the shower.

One on bathtub lasted nearly as long and I replaced it a year or so ago.

In frequently used sinks, they might only last a few years and the fixtures on all my sinks have had to be replaced. The kitchen sink which is the sink most frequently used is on its third fixture.

I always have a spare cartridge on hand.

[clare]

Personally I've NEVER seen one leak inside the wall. It would take some serious corrosion for that to happen.

[Cole Man]

That's good news and a load off my mind. So what are the signs that it would need to be replaced? It's sounding like mine is good to stay for awhile longer, but I'd like to know what to look for that would indicate replacing the cartridge.

[Ron]

If it's not broke don't fix it. If it goes bad it will start leaking around the handle while the water is running.

[Vic Smith]

I don't know how these cartridge type faucets fail. Only one I have is in the bathroom sink. A pull and turn. It was here when I moved in 15 years ago. Still works fine. Don't know the brand. I replaced the kitchen sink lever faucet at my wife's bidding some years ago with a higher gooseneck faucet. It has left and right handles that turn 90 degrees for full on/off. Don't know if it's washers or cartridges. Should have kept the paperwork that came with it. Never replaced a cartridge, and I do my own plumbing. I would never do "maintenance" on a valve unless it leaked, or got hard to turn on/off. Unless it was called for as part of a schedule as some high pressure Navy valves had. Why do that? I't not like changing oil in a car. And it's not "pro-active." It's looking for trouble, and violates the not broken, don't fix rule.

--Vic

[clare]

When they don't shut off fully it's time to replace the cartridge. When you can no longer get replacement cartridges it's time to replace the fixture. When they get grungy looking the handles and bezels and other pright parts can all be replaced on most tub faucets

[clare]

Or they won't shut off.

[Cole Man]

Thanks, guys. Much appreciated. I'll leave it alone. It will probably last until we remodel the bathroom in a few years. At that point, we'll change out the whole fixture.

[Jon Danniken]

Mine was hard to pull out and turn. I sent them an email asking what I should do, and they sent me a replacement cartridge in the mail (free of charge).

Both Price Pfister and Moen will do this. When they ask for your address in the form, make sure it is actually your address, as this is where they will send the cartridge.

Jon