Monobloc kitchen mixer hassles

[CPCUK]

Hi,

I've recently noticed my kitchen monobloc mixer tap has come loose. There appears to be three parts to it;
1) the lower body section (joins the sink)
2) the upper body section which has the single lever attached to control water etc
3) the spout

However, its not loose from under the sink itself. The lower body of the tap is fixed firmly to the kitchen sink but what I am calling the upper body section swivels around when I swivel the spout.

There are no allen key bolts / screws to open the body sections. I assume that inside there is a fixing nut to hold the upper and lower body sections together (maybe during manufacture?).

Is my only option to purchase a new tap?

or.... if I remove the tap completely and unscrew the flexi tails will I be able to get inside the body somehow to tighten the nut?

Thanks for any help.

Chris

 

[seco services]

Give us a pic of the tap.

 

[CPCUK]

Ok!

Ive tried to demonstrate whats happening with the tap in the pics. I've uploaded them to an album I've just created but fingers crossed the links below should also work.

Image 1: the cylindrical lower body does not move
Image 2 and 3 : the upper body and spout are free to move independantly

//www.diynot.com/network/CPCUK/albums/11222/42088
//www.diynot.com/network/CPCUK/albums/11222/42089
//www.diynot.com/network/CPCUK/albums/11222/42090

Thanks

ps. condition of tap and sink look well awful in these pics!

 

[seco services]

I take it you don't know the make/model of the tap ?

 

[CPCUK]

No, unfortunately I don't have the boxes. I bought 2 on EBay over a year ago. They weren't expensive at around £35 (now I know why some taps are cheap!).

 

[plumberdan]

Picture Title

• plumberdan
• 27 Jan 2012
• 1

think there's a grub screw under here either allen or flat head, handle comes off the washers disc's whatever its got, should give a clear shot right through to the back of tap, turn the water off before proceeding with this or you'll get wet

 

[plumberdan]

could be wrong

 

[plumberdan]

think its the only place it can be

 

[CPCUK]

I'm at work right now so cant take another look until I get home.

When I did look under before all I saw was what looked like a red 3mm round bung. You can look up behind it and it seems to go nowhere ie, I can see the end of it (looks like a grommet).

I remember the tap being advertised as having ceramic washers so I assume I could change it if it was leaking (not that it is). There must be a way to get in it. Not the best time to take a look when I have a house viewing tomorrow morning!

Thanks for your input.

 

[CPCUK]

Managed to sort things!! The main body simply is screwed onto the lower cylindrical part. Due to this becoming loose the upper body and swivel spout both rotated independently. To get to the ceramic cartridge there is a small plug underneath the handle section. Removing this allows access to a grub screw which in turn allows the handle to slip off.

This is where it appears to become impossible!!! There is a 27mm hex nut holding the cartridge in the main body. However u can't get a spanner or such onto it because there is a cone shaped section over it which means u r trying to get a 27mm spanner (I used a tube spanner) in the opening which is possibly 25mm, doh. Long nose pliers can't grip the side of the nut and slip off so you are stuffed, lol. I undid the flexi-tails from the shut off valves under the sink and tightened the body sections together with a bit of loctite threadlock on.

It's a standard 32mm hex nut under the sink to remove the tap but with the tails connected at the tap end you can pass them through the tube socket in order to undo it. I did try and undo the rails at the body itself but they were tight and all I did was move the braid around in circles. I fixed the problem I had but what a stupid job for something so simple really.

Chris