So I finished the toilet tank, the washers on one bathroom sink, the cutoff valve for another toilet, the stem for the hot water in the powder room, but I'm stuck on the washers for the shower.
The stems seem frozen in place. Tried PB Blaster and banged some on he metal parts afterwards, but it's only been 4 hours. I'm going to let it sit until tomorrow but I'm impatient so I'm asking for help now.
IS IT TRUE THAT THE VALVES HAVE TO BE PARTLY (HALF-WAY?) OPEN TO UNSCREW THE STEMS. One comment online said that, specifically about removing stems. I know that if the valve is too far "closed", that is, screwed into its housing, when you screw the stem hoousing in, the end of the stem can stop the stem housing from screwing in all the way, but I don't see how the converse would be a problem. ???? (In addition, opening the valve makes it stick out farther and makes it hard to put a cross-bar through the long faucet socket.)
Yes, I've tried tightening in order to loosen it.
I would think the most important thing now would be a very long cross bar, like 108 inches in both directions, so I can get torque but no force in other directions. I can't think of anything I have that woudl be that long and fit through the hole in the socket.
What about a hair dryer? Propane torch? Minipropane torch?
The house is 44 years old and since some of the framing was in the way of the socket, it's pretty clear the washers have never been changed, that and that I've been here for 40 and I know I never changed this shower's washers. In the last year or two it's gotten hard to turn off completely but it still doesn't drip!! (though a propane torch could change that.)