Leaking bathroom faucet...

[thirdktm]

Bathroom faucet leaks.
Wife wants a new one.
My challenge is to remove the leaky one. Which I tried yesterday to do, unsuccessfully.
The plastic nuts on the cold and hot knobs beneath the sink that hold the faucet on require contortionist moves to grab and turn. The nuts are very tight.
I considered removing the sink altogether, with the faucet attached, which would make removal of the faucet easy. But I didn't. The sink itself seems to be held onto the cabinet by a super strong adhesive. Disrupting that seal could create another set of challenges down the road.
Any ideas....?

[RogerR]

I think you need a "basin wrench" this is a great little tool, and cheap, to reach up there and loosen or tighten the nuts on the bottom of a faucet. Sorry about the giant picture, don't know how to shrink it. wrench is about $5 to 10$.

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by thirdktm

Bathroom faucet leaks.
Wife wants a new one.
My challenge is to remove the leaky one. Which I tried yesterday to do, unsuccessfully.
The plastic nuts on the cold and hot knobs beneath the sink that hold the faucet on require contortionist moves to grab and turn. The nuts are very tight.
I considered removing the sink altogether, with the faucet attached, which would make removal of the faucet easy. But I didn't. The sink itself seems to be held onto the cabinet by a super strong adhesive. Disrupting that seal could create another set of challenges down the road.
Any ideas....?

I had that very problem when switching out our kitchen faucet. One came off, the other wouldn't budge. I thought about it for a while, and made a tool that works great.

I took a scrap piece of PVC pipe (1-1/4" or 1-1/2")about 1 foot long and cut 4 notches opposite each other on one end. I used a new faucet nut to get the spacing and depth right. Then I put it up under the stuck nut, and twisted it right off. It gives you something to grip on, and worked flawlessly. It's now a permanent "plumbing tool" in my collection since it works on all the house faucets too. It took about 15 minutes to make. Give it a try.

[Duke4857]

2X on the basin wrench, I have used mine for the TT. Love the idea of the notched pipe also. Think about a tall style faucet like in the Dr.'s office sinks. Those help in the small bathroom sinks. Something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Design-H...8263/301804560

I made a quick search to give you the idea. Make sure the valve spacing is correct and choose your price range. It is much easier to get your hands under the taller neck faucet.

[thirdktm]

Thanks for everyone's help...
Finally, a little heat from a hair dryer loosened up the plastic nuts. With effort, they unscrewed.
As for the basin wrench, so little space exists on the back side of the faucet pipe beneath and behind the sink, there was room to turn the wrench.
Then, I bought a new faucet, installed it, but the threaded part that extends below the cabinet is about a quarter inch shorter than the original. Which means not enough threads are showing to screw the plastic nut on the bottom. It sprayed water -- so I not done yet. Will return the new faucet and try to find one that has longer threaded extensions.....A frustrating exercise....

[norty1]

We had a similar problem when changing out our sink for a thicker marble one. I went to Lowes Plumbing and purchased an extension kit that allowed me to finish the job quickly and very inexpensive.

https://www.google.com/search?q=shan...hrome&ie=UTF-8

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DANCO-Fa...9477/203194000