Mystery hardware underneath stopper/linkage

[mpayson]

Hi,

my tub won’t drain but it’s not clogged. I though the trip lever was worn so I replaced it but still wouldn’t drain. I pulled out the linkage and stopper and underneath looks like another piece of hardware that’s keeping the water from moving. Anyone know what this is or have ideas on what the problem with the drain is?
Thanks,
Mark

 

[mpayson]

Can’t snake it, draino makes no difference. Really not sure what the solve is here - Maybe a plumber or take apart the wall on the other side of the tub and remove the overflow pipe?

 

[Riickk]

I have a suspicion about what it is, but....
Can you post a picture of the original parts you removed -or- all the new parts you tried to install, via the overflow?

 

[mpayson]

I have a suspicion about what it is, but....
Can you post a picture of the original parts you removed -or- all the new parts you tried to install, via the overflow?

The only thing I replaced was the trip lever/plate - all the linkage and plunger was intact. Don’t have a photo handy, but the diagram attached shows everything I took out so I could get a photo of what was down the pipe. Like I mentioned - everything came out intact - corroded, but seemed to be working. I did happen to get a pic of the plunger, so I’ll attach that too.

 

[Riickk]

So much for my theory

 

[mpayson]

Starting to think one of the kids wedged something down the drain

 

[Jeff Handy]

Can you drill a bunch of holes in it, then pull it out in pieces with a needle nose pliers?

Don’t drill deep, just through that top surface.

 

[mpayson]

No - it’s actually down just below where the plunger sits when the drain is closed - can’t reach it.

 

[fixitron]

The first photo appears to have been taken with a digital borescope? looking down the overflow of the tub? (it is a good image for a borescope).
As you can see in the 4th photo, the tub drain (the "shoe") has bars to keep larger objects from entering the drain, so it cannot be something going down the drain and completely blocking the drain.
I think that what you see is a clear pipe where it turns to head under the tub. It does have the appearance of being a round chrome disk. I don't think that I am seeing any water in that pipe, which is not typical. Usually, the shoe drains horizontally to a tee and the overflow drains straight through that tee to a trap (usually a P-trap). Since I don't seem to see any water down that overflow pipe, I suspect that the overflow may do a 90 over to the shoe and the shoe drains straight down to a trap. Usually you would snake a tub through the overflow. In your case you might try snaking through the shoe. The trap might be clogged with hair and gunk.

 

[mpayson]

The first photo appears to have been taken with a digital borescope? looking down the overflow of the tub? (it is a good image for a borescope).
As you can see in the 4th photo, the tub drain (the "shoe") has bars to keep larger objects from entering the drain, so it cannot be something going down the drain and completely blocking the drain.
I think that what you see is a clear pipe where it turns to head under the tub. It does have the appearance of being a round chrome disk. I don't think that I am seeing any water in that pipe, which is not typical. Usually, the shoe drains horizontally to a tee and the overflow drains straight through that tee to a trap (usually a P-trap). Since I don't seem to see any water down that overflow pipe, I suspect that the overflow may do a 90 over to the shoe and the shoe drains straight down to a trap. Usually you would snake a tub through the overflow. In your case you might try snaking through the shoe. The trap might be clogged with hair and gunk.

You’re right on the vantage point of the photo. The circle that you see is just below where the shoe drains into that tee. I’m not sure which way the P trap goes after the overflow. I’ve snaked it pretty hard and poured a ton of drano down there. It does seem like my clog has ‘moved’ - I can run more water now before it backs up into the tub than I could before. It’s still pretty stuck though - just a small puddle in the tub takes about 45min to clear. The tool I used for the photo is this if you’re interested. It works pretty well - DEPSTECH Wireless Endoscope, IP67 Waterproof WiFi Borescope Inspection 2.0 Megapixels HD Snake Camera for Android and iOS Smartphone, iPhone, Samsung, Tablet -Black(11.5FT) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYTHWK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5q7sFbTGSK5C1