Will Y.

We had an issue with the Kohler tub stopper not lifting-- it turns out that a small cotter pin for the stopper knob broke. Anyhoo, as the incompetent handyman ( yes, me ) lifted out the stopper after disconnecting the lift linkage from the overflow plate & knob, the entire lift linkage, spring and all, dropped down the drain so far that I can't even feel the thing with a mechanical claw or extended wire hanger.

There doesn't seem to be any obstruction of the running drain.

Anyone have any ideas to remedy the situation , before I call a plumber?

MR1

You may be able to take the elbow apart and find the parts. Home Depot or Lowes may have replacements. If it will wait until tomorrow, call Kohler or , a plumber.

Will Y.

Yes, it can wait, probably for a few months. Not worth getting a plumber just yet.
The house is a single story, so the drain can't go very far down before hitting the elbow. If the bath drain joins the main without an elbow, I'm screwed.

The whole linkage fell as a unit, so I'll try and figure out if I can find and fish the linkage out somehow.
In the meantime, I put the overflow plate & knob back on (for looks) after buying an old-fashioned plug-type white drain stopper.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

How about using a magnetic retrieval tool?

svtmike

Probably won't work -- brass parts most likely.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

i think this happened last night... wife came out of the shower said water wasnt draining... unscrew the drain and pulled out a glob of hair... and started to go down VERY slowly...

opened the cap for the stopper lever, and there was no linkage connect to it... FML... i'll have to tear out ceiling in the downstairs bathroom to access the elbow for the tub...

never a dull moment...

svtmike

That's the last thing I would do to a glob of drain hair, but different strokes for different folks.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

you would leave the glob of drain hair in the drain?

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Reminds me of the scene from Sorority Boys.

Will Y.

Give me some tips on where you find the linkage and how you got it out when you're done!

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

well in theory it should be simple... just disconnect the elbow from the bottom of the tub and the stopper should drop down... then fix the line and reconnect it to the switch up top... or replace the whole assembly to one without a link, after you take out the old stopper...

but this means you would have to have access to the underside of the tub... last night when i got home, i already broke into the ceiling of the downstairs bathroom to access the tub... but i have found another problem... the cold water line is leaking and it is buried at the top of the shower... FML...

dallison

is there a way to tape a small magnet to the hanger to see if you can pull it out?

Will Y.

Yep, the theory sounds easy, but the execution would suck (my tub is a Jacuzzi tub in a one-story, so I think digging is involved.

At least you found the leak now rather than after the drywall fell away.
Per svtmike @ post #5-- likely brass parts.
I know my linkage/spring combo is pretty heavy, so even if it was ferrous, a pretty big magnet would be needed to pick up the linkage and overcome any friction between the linkage and the drain's interior.

With my luck, I can imagine having the magnet come off the hanger and dropping into the drain to keep the linkage company, too.

MR1

Plumber>Lawyer for stopper/drain repair=Call & Pay

Sit in big leather chair, write check or continue clown show to delight wife and Azine friends.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

so my weekend was completely shot fixing my plumbing issues with the above ordeal... one thing always leads to another... i will post pics after dinner... im freaking exhausted...

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

if you are on a one story, and have no access underneath the tub, then whoever installed the tub should have built an access panel on the other side of the tub. is your tub against an interior wall of your house? you may have to bust through that wall to access the elbow if you can't get under the tub... is there a crawlspace under the single story, otherwise there has to be an access in front of the tub... i can't imagine during installation how the plumbing would have been connected without one of these access avilable...

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

so my Saturday project.

step 1, demo out the ceiling in my downstairs bathroom...

IMAG0180.jpg

here is the trap/elbow removed... the pipe on the left is from the tub and the pipe on the right leads to the sewer line...

IMAG0181.jpg

when you remove the trap, your stopper should be in your elbow... if not, look up the pipe that comes from the tub and you should see your stopper stuck in there... if this is the case, just get a long screwdriver and push the stopper back up to the lever hole and pull it out from top...

IMAG0182.jpg

close up of pipe from tub... no stopper...

IMAG0184.jpg

so for me... i was confused as to where the heck my stopper went... i looked at tail end that connects from the trap to the sewer pipe... and it looked corroded inside and out...

IMAG0185.jpg

i tried to remove the tailbend of the elbow from the sewer connection but you can see that it was so corroded, it just collapse as soon as I put my vise on it... so i ended up having to remove that connection pipe too... let me say that it did not want to budge... had to use a 3ft pipe to extend the handle...

IMAG0186.jpg

looking in the pipe... it's no wonder the water wasn't draining... i have the feeling that the stopper disconnected itself a long time ago and got lodged in there... i wasn't going to go fishing for it tho...

IMAG0187.jpg

so then here was problem number two that i mentioned above which i fixed on Sunday... my leaky water lines... will have pics up tonight after i get home...

IMAG0183.jpg

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

to continue my prior post.

this is the LA trap of the tub after everything was put back together... nice shiny brass should hold up another 51 yrs, but by that time, it will be the next owners problem...

IMAG0189.jpg

so with my leaky water line, there was no way i would reach it from the bottom... so i demo'd the wall in my dining room to access behind the tub...

IMAG0191.jpg

IMAG0192.jpg

you can see that the bottom where both 'tee' connections are... the water droplets were there so i initially thought the welds on the tees were bad... but then it would have been shooting water out under pressure and not forming droplets over minutes...

IMAG0193.jpg

initially the hole was only about 8" tall around the tee... but when i followed the leak up, i had to open up wall all the way to the top... it ended up that the weld on the collar that is connected onto the faucet of the tub was leaking...

IMAG0194.jpg

IMAG0195.jpg

so i cut the old line and re-welded the male ends onto new pipe... and i used screw on couplers so that i could get the line back on...

IMAG0196.jpg

i didn't get a chance to take progress pics, so all of these are after shots... the pipes didn't originally have insulators over it... i will be checking for any leaks throughout the week... and probably re-sheet rock next weekend... maybe ill put in a nice little door as an access panel, but it gets drafty from all the air coming from the attic...

hope you enjoyed... i am not buying an old house ever again...

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

to the OP, this is what i mean about access the trap from the front of the tub... if you can't get underneath it, there should be an access panel or wall you can break into... once you get there, you will see the two pipes coming off the tub...

here is the line coming from the top of the tub where the lever is for the stopper... my finger pointing...

IMAG0197.jpg

and if you follow that down, it connects to the drain of the tub where it then hits the elbow... my finger pointing...

IMAG0198.jpg

Will Y.

I'm the curious type, so the clown show will continue until I break something or hurt myself.
If I continue to post, you'll know I haven't seriously hurt myself.
I was kidding about the digging-- there is an access panel to the jacuzzi motor from daughter's bedroom.
Unfortunately, the motor is at the other end of the tub from the drain and plumbing, which abuts the kitchen wall and built in-desk/counter... I think the kneehole of the desk area is where the plumbing joins up-- behind some really well constructed plaster.

Let me tell you about the construction defect lawsuits I and my former firms participated in and you will never buy a new house!

MR1

Therapy?

noshow_nogo

+1 . just bought a "new construction" in 11/2009 . lived in for 4 months. i don't know if my situation warrants a defect, BUT every damn inch of the hardwood floors squeak as well as all the stairs. drywall is sagging in places looking at the first floor ceiling. you can outline where the floor joists are. I'm waiting until the weather warms up and then making full use of my new home warranty.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

then i'll wait for the pics of the holes you make in your walls to keep mine company...

my wife hates it because i am always into everything wanting to try to fix things myself and not calling someone... but i have seen many shoddy jobs which are done... and noone is as careful on your own property than yourself... i reno'd almost the whole house before i moved in... it hurt me to crack into that wall since i just sheetrocked it last year... and now im going to have to patch it up...

but i have to agree with you, they don't build houses like they used to... with all the new construction cookie cutter houses, they just want those houses built as fast as possible so they can sell them...

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

hardwood will tend to squeak more in the winter since the wood contracts in the colder weather... it is happening at my house too... shouldn't be so bad in summer...

did they use enough nails/screws on the sheetrock of the first floor ceiling? can you see the distance between nails??? usually i go overboard with any sheetrock on ceilings because the weight of the board will just sag onto the screws and then you see these ugly holes... when they come out to fix it, make sure they are not just compounding over the holes... make them screw more nails to bring the sheetrock flush to the joists...

MR1

Slow day, need update please!

Will Y.

Still haven't tackled the thing yet-- the drain runs fine, and cub scout camping/kids' commitments prevented me from taking an afternoon or morning to check for a tub plumbing access panel in the kitchen behind some cabinetry/drawers (rather than behind the desk's kneehole).

Hopefully I'll get to this the weekend after next.
If it doesn't work out, my neighbor across the street is a professional plumber who installed my newest water heater.

Thus far, I'm uninjured and have all fingers and toes still in working order.

MR1