How To Use Moen Cartridge Retainer Removal Tool

How Do I Remove a Stuck Moen Faucet Cartridge?

Moen faucet cartridges are some of the best and long lasting cartridges in the marketplace. They are notwithstanding not always easy to replace particularly if you live in an area with hard h2o or if there was no grease applied on the O-rings during installation.

The main reason your Moen cartridge is stuck is due to corrosion caused by hard h2o especially iron and manganese. Failure to lubricate the O-rings during installation also causes the O-rings to tightly bind on the valve's housing making them hard to pull out.

To make information technology easy to pull out their cartridges, Moen designed a cartridge removal tool which helps yous rotate the cartridge inside the valve, thereby freeing it and making it easy to pull out.

Sometimes, the Moen cartridge will non come up out even later using this tool. Luckily, there are a few ways to remove a stuck Moen cartridge that plumbers take found to exist useful over fourth dimension.

Before terminal that your Moen faucet cartridge is stuck, make sure that you lot take removed the retaining clip. This is the prune that holds the cartridge in place within the shower valve body.

This may sound and so obvious simply you may exist surprised past the number of times I have seen people spend hours trying to pull out a cartridge with the retaining clip still in place.

And so, what should you do if you take tried pulling out you Moen faucet cartridge but information technology just won't budge?

To remove a stuck Moen faucet cartridge, use a pilus dryer on the highest heat setting to warm the cartridge for 5 to 10 minutes or dunk it with WD-twoscore or vinegar to dissolve the minerals. If that does non work, cut threads inside the cartridge housing then use a bolt and washers to draw it out.

I know this is very brief so permit the states run across how to do that in more than details.

Related: How to set a leaking Moen shower faucet cartridge.

iv Ways to Remove a Stuck Moen Cartridge

There are 4 means that I know of that can be used successfully to remove a stuck Moen faucet cartridge. Some works seamless well in some faucets while some don't. You will need to endeavor what volition work out well for you.

I will start with the easiest and most effective method. Hither they are:

1. Use the Moen Cartridge Puller

If you have the new Moen cartridge replacement kit with you lot, expect for a pocket-size plastic slice. That is the cartridge puller although yous can also purchase another one which comes with a handle.

Again, it is important to make sure that yous take removed the cartridge retaining prune earlier trying to pull out the cartridge.

If you look at the cartridge puller, there are 2 shoulders that demand to engage the 2 shoulders on the cartridge.

Slide the cartridge puller inside the cartridge until it properly engages information technology.
Catch the flat sides of the puller with a pair of pliers and try to twist it left and correct.

The thought here is that every bit you twist the cartridge inside the shower valve, it volition complimentary up making it like shooting fish in a barrel to pull out.

If the cartridge starts to rotate freely inside the shower valve, remove the puller, grab information technology with the pliers and pull it straight out.

Stuck/corroded cartridges will however not come out that easily. They will need more persuasion to gratis upwardly.

Tip! What happens if you don't have a cartridge puller?

Practise y'all know that you can use your faucet handle every bit cartridge puller? For both shower and kitchen faucets! How you ask?

After remove the cartridge retaining clip, reattach the handle and apply it to twist and even pull the cartridge? Effort this if you do not have a cartridge puller.

ii. Warm the Cartridge with a Hairdryer

To be honest with you I don't know the Physics backside this flim-flam but it works pretty well. Applying abiding oestrus on the cartridge loosens it upwardly making information technology easy to pull out.

The tool of choice for rut application is the hairdryer. Put it to the highest temperature settings then starting time bravado hot air on the cartridge for five to 10 minutes.

My judge is that the oestrus softens the O-rings while at the same time helps the valve expand a little therefore detaching the cartridge.

Connect the hairdryer to a ability source and arrange it to the highest heat settings.
Start blowing hot air all of the cartridge for 5-10 minutes.
After the v/10 minutes, put the hairdryer abroad and put back the cartridge puller.
Grab it with the pliers and over again twist it right and left.
Check if it is easier to rotate the cartridge later the oestrus handling.
Utilise more oestrus if need exist.
Once the cartridge feels free enough, pull it straight out with the pliers.

3. Dunk the Cartridge with Vinegar or WD-twoscore

WD-twoscore and vinegar are two readily available products at home that have been successfully used to loosen corroded connections by dissolving the minerals. It is the same thing with a stuck cartridge.

Grab a can of WD-40 or put some vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it all over the cartridge.
Effort to twist the cartridge as yous spray the WD-40/vinegar.
Give it about an 60 minutes to penetrate the cartridge and work out its magic.
Keep spraying more of the WD-twoscore/vinegar say later every x minutes.
Afterward the ane 60 minutes, employ the cartridge puller to twist and free upwards the cartridge.

4. Thread the Cartridge Sleeve with a Tap

This method is used for pulling out a stuck Moen cartridge sleeve. Sometimes if you have an former cartridge that y'all are desperate to pull out, you may pull it out forcefully only to end with the cartridge shaft with the sleeve still tightly held inside the valve housing.

That is where this method becomes useful.

You need to get hold of a ½-inch tap and utilize it to make threads inside the cartridge sleeve. The within of the cartridge sleeve is made of brass which is easy to thread.

Every bit you thread through the sleeve, yous want to hear it squeaking which tells you that the bolt you lot are going to use volition take hold of the cartridge tightly as well.

After making sufficient threads, remove the tap.

You will then want to use an equal size of bolt (1/2-inch) to remove the cartridge. You lot need to brand sure that the bolt is long enough.

Apart from the commodities, yous volition need 2 basics of the aforementioned size and about 3 or four washers.

Spiral in the ii nuts on the bolt all the mode to the centre then slide in the washers.
Screw in the bolt inside the cartridge until it is hand tight.

Equally you will find, the washers are very important in this task. Since they are bigger in size that the shower valves housing, they will wedge against the housing and as you lot tighten the bolt the cartridge volition be fatigued out.

Once the bolt is hand tight, use a wrench to tighten it farther. The more you lot tighten the bolt the more than you push the washers against the valve housing and in the procedure pull out the cartridge sleeve.

I will leave this video her for yous which explains in details what you exactly need to do.