UPDATE APRIL 2017: SEE BELOW
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//// IMPORTANT UPDATE September 2010 ////
There is a better way to do this:
I created a new video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmBf4O1hM2k
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How to remove a very old corroded Moen bath shower faucet cartridge that is stuck.
REMEMBER: Turn the water off before you start working on your faucet!
OLD VIDEO:
MY ORDEAL
A few weeks before I made this this video, I had a Moen shower faucet go bad on me. The faucet valve would not turn off. After turning the main water shut valve off, I quickly discovered how difficult it is to remove a Moen 1200 cartridge. It was 40 years old and would not budge. After 6 hours, two trips to the hardware store, and breaking two different removal tools, I was desperate!!! We had no water in the house until I could get the old cartridge out of the faucet.
This worked for me, and saved me from a very expensive weekend after hours plumbing bill $$$$$!!!! So when a friend of mine ran into the same problem with his Moen bath shower faucet, I made this video to document the removal procedure.
In most cases the simple plastic tool that comes with a new Moen 1200 cartridge is ridiculously inadequate to loosen and remove an old faucet cartridge. And the other cartridge removal tools available at the local home center or hardware store, often don't work either. The process shown in this video is a last resort before cutting out and replacing the entire faucet, which is very expensive, and involves tearing tile and wall apart.
NOTE: I used a 12mm/1.75 thread tap which I already had in my tool box, and a matching 12mm diameter bolt, about 4 inches long. Other folks have had success using a 1/2 inch diameter tap and bolt.
WARNING: Use this method at your own risk. I am not a plumber and it is quite possible to damage the pipes when torquing on the faucet with this much force. Again, this is a last resort cartridge removal method.
The Moen model 1200 brass faucet cartridge I got at Home Depot for about $22. I think you can use the Moen 1225B cartridge with a plastic body but I haven't used it.
If anyone knows a better way to get these jammed stuck cartridges out, I'd love to hear it.
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UPDATE APRIL 2017:
Uncle Kenta's general consensus after 8 years of comments:
1) STOP!!!: OF COURSE!!! try the little plastic tool, that comes in the replacement Moen 1200 or 1225 cartridge packaging. Haha if that works for you, I'd be surprised. But, at least try it. Doesn't hurt.
2)The Moen T-Tool Puller (This can hurt to try. It might break!)
STOP AGAIN!!!: Try the regular T-Shaped dedicated Moen cartridge puller tool, if 1) you can find it, 2) you have time to obtain one, (haha: good luck if you can't turn water back on). Use the Moen T-tool at your own risk. For me, this tool broke, snapped right off, inside the cartridge, and was a pain to get it back out, to get me back to the original stuck cartridge to begin with. Plumbers have repeated commented that this T-Tool is all you need. Still not convinced. Anywhoo: try the T-Tool, gently, if it works for you great, you're done. Go have a beer. If not, keep reading.
3) Some people have reported success using a large 'easy out' or screw extractor. If you can find one, and it works, might be good option.
4) HOWEVER, if you want the maximum force, and the best leverage, with least risk to causing damage to the faucet body, or the pipes, IMHO the REDUX video
https://youtu.be/XmBf4O1hM2k
showing the puller method is the ABSOLUTE BEST WAY to solve this problem.
Cheers everyone. Peace, and git 'er done!!!
Uncle Kenta
https://www.youtube.com/user/uk7769/videos
https://www.facebook.com/UncleKenta/
