Repairing a One Handle Kitchen Faucet

How to Repair a Delta or Other One Handle Kitchen Faucet

When you push the lever up to get water out of the spout of the faucet does it come out all around the handle? This indicates problems with the washers inside the faucet. You need to take out the old, possibly torn washers and put in new ones. This could also be the ball that controls the flow, it could be dented and leaking around the ball and washers.

This is a very easy repair and only takes a few minutes. You first need to do two things before you start, and these are important. You need to shut off the water to the faucet all the way, either under the sink or like mine, at the main for the house. Then you should put a rag or towel in the sink to cover the drain and prevent stuff from falling in the drain. This is not a good way to loose parts down the drain.

Then you need to have a repair kit for the job, since your not sure what you'll need get the kit that has the washers, springs, and little tool, if you want you can get the full kit and save a trip to the store later, that is a good idea. The full kit will have the ball stem and all the other parts. It is a good idea to just get the whole kit and have them on hand for any later jobs if you don't use them right away. With the kit you should get a tool that has an allen wrench and a key for the plastic disc inside the cap assembly.

Loosen the allen screw that holds the handle on the faucet. When it's loose enough the handle will pull off. There is a plastic disc inside the silver ring. Loosen this ring with the tool that comes in the repair kit. You don't have to remove it completely, just a few turns till it spins freely. Then loosen the metal cap. Turning counter clockwise with a channel lock pliers you should be able to do it with out ruining the ring. The plastic disc was holding pressure on the ring and it should be loose.

Then inside is a plastic ring that the stem comes up through, this has an odd egg shaped hole in it. Pull up on the stem and these two pieces should come out. You should have the stem out and the plastic ring, this ring has a rubber gasket on the inside of it.