Shower handle issue

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wendt80

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The hot water handle simply spins and spins and no water comes out. When I remove the set screw and take off the handle there appears to be a square box attached to the end of the stem. This box fits snuggly into the handle (the square box is the male end and the handle is the female), but the box on the end of the stem is what spins freely. Logic tells me this box should catch on the threads of the stem to turn the water on and off, but it just keeps spinning and spinning and never catches on anything. I looked for a way to remove this box, but I don't think that's possible.

Any ideas on how I can fix my handle?
 
Is it possible to post up a picture? Is this stem plastic? Just guessing, I would say that your faucet stem is severed, and would need to be replaced. Most stems can be found at the big box stores, and all will come out, depending on what tools you use. Most have a chrome cap, usually held on with a set screw at the base of it, and once you remove this, you should see the way to remove the stem using a wrench.

P.S. Don't forget to shut off the water before doing anything else.
 
I'll try to post a picture tonight. I'm leaning towards replacing the stem. Doesn't look like too much work...if i remember to turn off the water supply. :)

Thanks!
 
Great! Remember to take your stem with you and just match it up. I made the mistake once of selecting one from memory. Well, it fit OK, but the stem was about 1/2" too short to do me any good. Keep us posted!
 
So, the box is an adaptor which is used when the splines are messed up. Therefore, I'm going to head into Home Depot and get myself some new stems and new handles, since the ones we have are ugly anyway. :)

Thanks for your help!
 

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