Delta Kitchen Faucet Leak

[scuba415]

Hi all,

I have been having an ongoing problem with my Delta kitchen faucet. It is a single handle pullout, about 11 years old. Originally I had a typical slow, constant drip leak coming out of the spout. I changed the seats and springs and fixed that drip. Unfortunately, I then developed a drip coming from under the handle. It is not a constant drip, rather when you turn off the faucet, water wells up between the cam and the vacuum ball and drips a few drops. Not much water comes out at one time, but when using the faucet constantly the water does add up, and pool around the faucet base. It seems that there is some excessive pressure when the faucet is turned off which causes the water to be pushed through the cam-vacuum ball seal, but once that pressure is relived, it stops, as it is not a constant drip.

I got a new cam and packing from delta, they sent me the old version, which has a separate white piece and a black seal, and is intended to be used with the compression ring. They also sent me a newer version, which is dark gray in color, one piece, and is not intended to be used with the compression ring. I have tried both versions; I have used plumber’s putty, but cannot get this leak to stop. Has anybody experienced something like this? I am pretty much out of ideas.

TIA

[markcool]

Unless you're in love with the faucet, or it's really expensive to replace, it might be a good idea to just get a new one.

It sounds like you've invested a lot of time and money into the old one. 11 years old is quite old for a kitchen faucet.

[johnjh2o]

Remove the handle and tighten the compression ring inside the nut that holds the ball in place. Delta makes a small spanner wrench that comes with the rebuild kit for this purpose.

John