Replace the faucet. I have found Moen to be total crap (I was going to say "total shit", but I didn't want to offend anyone ). I outfitted my house with Moen because I thought they were a quality manufacturer; every unit has failed me, and the "Lifetime Warranty" just means I had to repair the most inaccessible parts every year for the rest of my life. Especially bad for the tub and the shower faucets - with the works hidden behind walls.
I've switched to Delta, Pfister, & Hansgrohe. Not a problem with any of them.
I'd just buy it online from a non-California source- it will most likely be cheaper even after shipping and you'll have it quickly. Who cares about a few ppb of lead in a shower fixture?
Thanks, (in no meaningful order) PrecisionmachinsT, Larry, Iggy, Speff, J. Clarke and Pyotr.
I later stumbled across a website that revealed the stocking level for this part at all of my local Borgs. It agreed (that the store from whence the advice came) had none to sell but revealed other stores within an easy drive that each had several pieces on the shelf. I bought one and a backup. this afternoon.
I do not know why my friend at the local Borg was apparently unaware of the stock level for this part at competing Borgs, but I found his story creative and entertaining nonetheless. The new part is installed and works much better than the old one did, though the replacement instructions are a marvel of half-truth, misdirection and obfuscation. :)
Now I suspect that 'Moen' is just a misspelling of 'Moan'.
Their sheet provides instructions for six different kinds of faucets using 56 little bitty postage-stamp-sized monochrome cartoons.
The entire sheet measures 5-1/2" x 10-3/4"!
They show the knob support coming straight off the valve stem axis.
It doesn't do that, for the shower mixer type.
Any attempt to make it do that will result in a little war of wills. Instead, that part pivots off the end of the stem quick and easy in about half a second and it installs with the same kind of motion, snickety-snack. I would be at a total loss in showing that motion in a tiny cartoon, however.
They show installation of the cartridge to be at 90 degrees rotation in relation to the way the old cartridge came out. If you follow that particular instruction, you will get the tiniest trickle on reassembly because the water inlets are not facing the features in the cast brass body. (DAMHIKT!) :)
There's also a little spacer made of *transparent* plastic (not shown in instructions) between the end of the valve stem and the inside of the knob support. It is nearly invisible as it chameleons against any surface it should happen to fall upon.
If you forget to install that little puppy, the valve will never completely close; It will cause the valve to drip with more enthusiasm than it did when you decided it was leaking too much. :)
But I digress.
I'll probably use my little lathe to make a slightly longer spacer this afternoon.
My earliest experience with Moen was when our plumber forgot to install the retainer clip. I turned the valve on and the guts popped out of the cartridge. Funny.
That mixer is our only Moen part now. I'm not looking forward to buying more specialized tools to service the other (Pfister, Hansgrohe) valves.
Turns out the source was much closer and much cheaper. Fourty dollarettes and I have my replacement and a backup. I was shocked (Shocked I Tell You!) to learn that the guy on the phone at the Borg was clueless, yet verbose.
I never thought to do that. Though I don't have the necessary receipt, my friends at Hansgrohe (for example) did ship me a part without a receipt after I explained that it was installed by a contractor.
Our house was completely equipped with Moen single-knob mixing faucets.
All the commonly used ones I had to replace the cartridge at least once.
Every single time, I forgot the "tricks" and stumbled and fumbled trying to recall the "tricks" of getting them in and out. You are 100% right, there's no way the little package insert helps your fingers remember the magic motion.
But eventually the kids and wife had a hard time working many of these pretty single-knob fixtures especially with wet hands. The Moen fixture in the shower for switching between tub/shower had become quite difficult for me even with a wrench, and the replacement part of that was total unobtanium.
So I up and ripped them all out, and replaced with more conventional two knob faucets (in most cases simple faucet washers but in at least once case, there's smaller non-mix cartridges for each of hot and cold). The shower got a much less ornate but very practical and big handle fixture.
I'm happy they're gone now. They sure do look pretty in the stores, with the single ornate knob, but man do they get tiring in the real world.
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