Delta 622 and other old style single handle faucets

Real Plumbing Help

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The Delta Single Handle Tub and Shower Faucet

How to Repair a Delta Single Handle Tub Faucet

If your Delta single handle bathtub or shower faucet is leaking, and its nut is not stuck, you can easily perform your own faucet repair by buying a Delta faucet repair kit and following Real Plumbing Help’s step-by-step instructions.

The repair that we’ll be doing to demonstrate the steps is on a Delta 622 single handle bathtub or shower faucet as shown in this photo. Notice that the faucet does not have a scald guard control or balance control? Due to current safety codes, this type of faucet cannot legally be installed in new homes. However, you can repair existing faucets of this type.

What You Need To Repair the Delta Single Handle Faucet

You will need a replacement ball, a repair kit from Delta with the appropriate replacement parts, plumbers grease, a wrench, and a screwdriver as shown in the photo. Do not substitute any other type of grease for the plumbers grease.

You can buy your Delta repair kit and plumbers grease online or at a plumbing supply store. Some faucet repair kits come with a replacement ball while others do not. Real Plumbing Help highly recommends that you replace the ball. The photo shows the parts contained in the kit.

First Repair Steps

Now that you have your supplies and tools, it’s time to turn off the main water valve. Ideally, you should also turn on a faucet at a lower elevation. Doing so helps to prevent water that is currently in the pipes from leaking out during the faucet repair.

Use the screwdriver or a sharp tool to pop off the plastic button in the center of the faucet handle. Beneath this button is the screw that holds the handle in place.

Use a Philips screwdriver and remove the screw. Once the screw has been removed, pull the handle off.

This photo shows you what the faucet looks like after the handle has been removed. You do not need to remove the chrome plate when repairing this Delta faucet. However, we are now at a critical point in this repair. Check the nut to see how tight it is. The nut must turn counterclockwise. Using minimal pressure, try to loosen the nut. If the nut doesn’t give with minimal pressure, read the following carefully so that you do not encounter problems with the repair. In fact, if you apply to much pressure, you could break the faucet which would then require replacing the entire shower valve. Worse yet, access to the shower valve is limited; you may need to drill into tile or a fiberglass shower enclosure!

Delta Faucet Repair Precautions

The following photos illustrate what happens when too much pressure is applied. Real Plumbing Help removed the chrome plate to give you a better view of what can happen when too much pressure is applied. Notice the faucet’s stem slot position is straight up and down in this first image.

This next photo shows the faucet under moderate pressure. Notice that the stem slot position has changed. If the stem slot moves when trying to remove the nut – STOP!

The next photo shows the faucet continuing to be turned under moderate pressure. Yes, the entire faucet body is turning – not the faucet nut.

How can the faucet body turn when the interior pipes should be holding it in place?

This particular Delta faucet features a design problem that has since been corrected in newer faucets.

The main brass body of the faucet does connect to the pipes in the wall. However, three small, soft copper tubes connect the main faucet body to the part of the faucet containing the ball.

Here’s what happens when too much pressure is applied to the nut. Snap! The entire shower valve will need to be replaced if this happens! There is no way to repair this other than replacing the valve. It doesn’t take much pressure at all to break this part, so repair the faucet with a gentle hand.

This photo shows the back side of the part that just snapped off. The nut is still attached as are two of the three copper tubes. The third tube remains in the main faucet body.

Here you can see the third tube along with what’s left in the wall. With these soft tubes holding the part in place, it’s easy to see why this part is prone to breakage under minimal pressure.

Since the part broke, the whole shower valve must be replaced. Real Plumbing Help used a Dremel tool and a tile cutting bit to enlarge the hole. The hole had to be smaller than the chrome backing plate.

This photo shows the new Delta monitor faucet before the chrome plate is installed.

Here’s the new faucet with the chrome plate in position, nicely covering the large hole that was necessary for the shower valve replacement. NOTE: This was an extremely risky repair with a high fire risk due to the soldering required. During the repair, a fire extinguisher was close at hand as was a water-filled squirt bottle. Despite these precautions, embers could have fallen behind the shower unit, making it virtually impossible to extinguish any flames. Because of the risks, many plumbers will not attempt repairs like this. Real Plumbing Help highly recommends that you have a licensed master plumber replace your faucet. If space issues are a problem, consider using a goof plate to expand the space and replace the faucet without having to retile the enclosure.

Continuing With the Delta Faucet Repair

Hopefully, your faucet won’t give you any trouble and the nut will respond to minimal pressure and come right off. Now, that the nut is off, pull out the ball and the other parts and put them aside. While the ball can often be cleaned and reused, Real Plumbing Help highly recommends replacing it, using only genuine Delta replacement parts. Old Delta single handle faucets used two different types of balls as shown in these images.

If your faucet ball has the thicker shaft, continue reading this page. If your faucet ball features a thinner, round shaft, follow the instructions located on the Real Plumbing Help Repair a Delta Kitchen Faucet Page as the steps are the same.

In this photo, you’ll see a set of three rubber seats and springs.

Use a screwdriver to gently lift these parts out of the faucet. These should slide right out.

Notice the size and shape of these parts as you will be replacing them with the kit’s replacement parts of the same size and shape. Also, notice how one end of the spring is thinner than the other? The thin part of the spring slips inside the rubber seat.

Use a dab of plumber’s grease and lightly grease all of the new rubber parts.

Place the new, greased rubber seats and springs into the faucet as shown in this image.

Now, grasp your new replacement ball.

Using a dab of plumbers grease, lightly grease the ball.

Place the white piece inside the black piece and then slide the combined piece onto the ball’s shaft so that the collar cradles the ball. Slide the white slotted piece over the shaft and snap into place so that the shaft protrudes through the slot.

Take the ball assembly and insert it into the faucet, taking care to align it so that the shaft is vertically positioned. Notice the matching notches in this photo.

Once the ball assembly is installed, take the chrome collar and lightly grease it inside as well as place a ring of plumbers grease around its outer plastic rim. Notice the notches in the plastic rim.

Place the collar over the ball assembly, making sure to line up the notches before snapping it into place.

Finally, reinstall the handle, tighten the screw, and replace the plastic button over the screw. Turn on the water supply and test your repaired Delta single handle shower faucet!

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