Jameco shower faucets (circa 1966)

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tarverator

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Our family cottage on the shore of Georgian Bay was built in 1966, and the shower dates from then. I am trying to service the Jameco faucets. I can get the outer plastic knobs off by removing the cover caps and screws in the front. The next "layer" has me baffled. I would suppose the inner knobs should pull straight off, but they won't budge -- I have pried them hard enough to flex, but they still won't come off. What is the trick to this? (Picture attached.)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

--Tarver

cottage_shower_faucets.jpg
 
You probably need to coat the handle with some penetrating oil, such as PB Blaster. After letting it soak overnight, try to pull the handles off again. If they are still not coming off, it may be necessary to purchase or rent a faucet handle removal tool, which cost about ~$17.00 and can be found at any hardware store.
 
Thank you for your answer.

I did spray in behind them with WD-40 yesterday, but today they still won't move so I guess I will have to come back with the handle removal tool.
 
As stated in other posts, WD-40 is a water displacement liquid, not a penetrating oil. I've also heard that CLR and Lime Away works pretty well to dislodge the set in crud and calcium.
 
That PB is some good stuff but you have to be careful.
It can destroy a finish and melt plastic if let set to long.
 
Yeah those should pull straight off, you might want to try a handle puller.


I have sold (ok I have STOCKED) Jameco parts for years but never, ever sell them. I was beginning to think Jameco was just a made up name :p
 
Well, I did get the knobs off with some PB Blaster and some gentle but persistent prying. Managed to replace the 3/8" washers. Unfortunately, there is a kind of seal around the stem (which I believe is called the "packing"?) which leaks, so that water comes out from behind the knob when the faucet runs. Forgot to snap a picture of it when I had it apart... oops. Are packing seals standard parts, much like the compression washers, or do they tend to vary widely by brand of faucet?
 
Depends on the type of packing, you might be able to buy some standard graphite cord packing that will work.
 
I got it fixed. Funny how it worked out. I took the cartridges out, and went into town to look for replacement packing seals, leaving Girlfriend at the cottage with no running water while I went treasure-hunting. Couldn't find any, but did find some O-rings that might have worked. I had some misgivings about using an O-ring for a packing seal because I thought it might be less durable than a proper packing seal over time, even with grease. (I also had a look at some graphite cord at a plumbing place, but all they had was a heavy gauge apparently meant for boilers.) Then on a hunch I stopped at one more place (Rona) to see if I could do better than the O-rings, and found an exact replacement kit for the the whole shebang! The package even indicated the dates (1950-68) for "Wallaceburg cartridge for Jubilee tub and shower" which evidently fits the old Jameco faucets, and this was a regular Master Plumber pack on sale in the regular section. I hesitated because I wasn't thrilled about paying three or four times more than the solution I had already figured out McGuivering the old fittings, but even more because I don't like the idea of buying and discarding perfectly good brass parts just because a seal had deteriorated. But I went ahead and replaced the entire cartridges and the faucets now work like new. It didn't occur to me until after I had them all installed that once I had tracked down the exact match for the cartridges, I could potentially have special ordered just the packing seals, but shutting off the water while I tinker with this isn't all that popular so it is best that the thing is fixed and done. Thanks for the tips along the way!
 
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