new bathroom faucet cracked center post?

Howdy,

I just bought a new faucet for my old bathroom sink. After install, it appeared to be working great. A few days later though, I noticed a small drip emerging from beneath the unit, directly from the center lift rod hole. I found this forum, read through some posts, and I’m beginning to suspect that the unit is defective.

First of all, full disclosure, I am not a licensed plumber. I’m just a hack who wants to save a few bucks on a new bathroom sink by buying it at Home Depot, and installing it himself. I take full responsibility for any flood risks, etc.

So anyway, the model I chose is the “Home Glacier Bay Aragon 4 in. Centerset 2-Handle Low-Arc Bathroom Faucet with Pop-Up Drain in Chrome”, competitively priced at Home Depot for only $20.98! I guess ya' get watcha' pay for ^.o ...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Glacier-...-Pop-Up-Drain-in-Chrome-67090W-6001/206428538

Obviously it’s not the Ferrari of bathroom faucets, but I wouldn’t expect it to be defective, just because it’s cheap.

Here is a photo of the leak:



Briefly, here’s what I did to install it:

I removed the old drain assembly, carefully cleaned the old putty from drain hole, applied a generous ring of fresh putty, then inserted the new assembly. I used a channel lock plyer to tighten the nut, and cleaned the excess putty from the drain flange. There are no leaks from this part of the drain.

Next, I inserted the pivot rod (which clips to the lift rod) into its seat on the drain assembly and tightened the nut. Droplets of water seem to appear where that nut meets the drainpipe, but they may in fact be from the primary leak.

Finally, I removed the old faucet unit, cleaned and dried the top of the sink, and inserted the new faucet (seating it carefully on its gasket). From below, I screwed the hot and cold supply tube coupling nuts into place, and hand tightened the lock nuts to securely mount it to the basin. There appear to be no leaks from either of these connections.

That’s pretty much it. I replaced the trap, and turned the water back on. The handles on this unit turn nicely, and the faucet spout doesn’t leak into the sink, so that’s good.

One poster suggested that the leak from the lift rod hole may be coming from the aerator, and dripping down the interior of the spout. I tested this theory by removing the aerator, then turning on the water just enough that I could see the entire stream exiting the spout. With the tap still on, I checked the lift rod hole beneath the sink again, but the leak continued.

Another post suggested that if it’s not a poor connection to the center unit, then possibly the center post is cracked, but I’d still like to rule out manufacturer defect for the moment. The only other thing I could think to do, to troubleshoot a leak from the interior of the faucet, was to remove the handles and check the stem unit assemblies. I turned off the water and loosened the bonnet nuts to inspect the valves there, but they came pre-assembled, and they look just fine. Furthermore, if they were faulty, I think the leak would be out of the spout, not from the base of the unit.

So that’s my rant. I should probably just pop the faucet out of there, and bring it back to Home Depot for a replacement, but I wanted to check to be sure it’s not just my fault somehow, first. Thanks for any advice!

Sincerely,
BucketHead

With one pic, I can't tell whether the water is coming from the faucet itself or the supply line connection at the bottom of the faucet. Did you use teflon tape where the supply line is threaded to the faucet? That is where I would suspect a leak. If the leak is coming from anywhere else, I would rip it out and replace it. BTW, Glacier Bay is Home Depot's own line and is a pretty poorly constructed unit. Also, while you are down there, I'd recommend replacing those supply lines themselves with new flexible stainless lines.

If it really is coming down that center piece then it is from splashing water etc. Or the valve body under the chrome body is leaking and going down that hole

The answer is in your post. You forgot to apply silicone caulk under the faucet prior to installing it. Remove the faucet, apply silicone caulk all around under the base, reinstall and that should take care of the problem.

The leak is not coming from the aerator, the supply lines or any other part of the faucet. The water is coming from water splashed on the vanity top flowing under the faucet and through the only open hole in the top, your pop-up drain rod hole.

After re-reading your original post I note you did not tighten the mounting nuts? Use a basin wrench and tighten those nuts TIGHT! With plumbing, hand tight is never tight enough.