Shower faucet leaking near hose connection

Rob Culver · 03-14-2024, 02:11 PM

Hello all,
Has anyone experienced leaking in the shower in the area where the hose connects to the shower spout in the middle? My leak occurs as I lift up the spout in order to make the water come out to the shower rather than the two faucets below. The water then sprays out to the side. More specifically, if you look at the close in picture it seems to be coming out of the oval area directly to the top of the spout in the middle.

I removed the faucet handles as you can see from the attached picture and then removed two screws from the underside near my hand in one picture. The black enclosure appears to be a top and bottom piece on either side of my thumb. But the top piece does not want to separate from the bottom piece easily. It looks like I shouldn't need to unscrew the two white pieces in the picture to get the top black piece off, should I? Just wanted to check with others who may have had this problem that the black part really is two separate pieces and I should be able to split them.

If I can remove the top black piece, that should allow me to get a better view of where the leak might be coming from below.
Thank you in advance for any guidance that anyone can provide!

**Kidkraz** · 03-14-2024, 03:01 PM

These faucets are fairly cheap and not hard to replace. Are you wanting to stick with this one? I checked the TM part catalog and the info listed is not the version you have pictured.
Other have had leak issues with the faucets.

Rob Culver · 03-14-2024, 03:50 PM

Thanks for your reply Kidkraz. No, I don't need to stick with this one if it's easy to replace. Do you know what the cost of a new one is? Do you know if i should be able to pull of that top black piece and separate it from the bottom? I tried wedging a knife in there but the two pieces, (assuming there really are two pieces) are stuck together pretty tight. On the other hand if it's not too difficult or expensive to get the new part perhaps I should not worry about damaging the existing one in removing it?

**Bill** · 03-14-2024, 05:58 PM

My guess is that the vertical black tube is cracked, either along part of its length, or more likely somewhere around its base. The crack will be hard to see because the crack closes when there is no pressure in the assembly. Try pressing your thumb tightly over the top of the black tube, turning a water knob on a little bit, and switching to shower mode. With pressure in the tube, water will spray out of any crack. If you find a crack, it is likely unrepairable because the plastic flexes under pressure, which will break a glue bond. Couldn't hurt to try, though.

If you want to get the two black parts separated, you will need to remove the two round white pieces. These are the water valve bodies. Remove the screw in the center of each white piece, pull them loose, and the black pieces should come apart.

I doubt that you will be able to find replacement component parts for the faucet assembly. You will probably need to replace the whole thing. Luckily these plastic bath and shower assemblies are cheap, and pretty much standardized in terms of supply pipe fittings and spacing. Replacing the assembly will involve pulling the entire assembly up off the tub until you get access to the pipe fittings that feed it from below. Be sure to depressurize the system before you begin, of course. Check Home Depot, Lowes, etc for replacement assemblies that will fit and look good. Many of them will come with a shower hose, whether you need a new one or not. As you shop, be sure to confirm that the decorative skirt will fit in the space allocated for it in the corner.

Do a web search on "rv tub shower faucet with diverter" to see all kinds of replacements.

Let us know

Bill

Rob Culver · 03-14-2024, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

My guess is that the vertical black tube is cracked, either along part of its length, or more likely somewhere around its base. The crack will be hard to see because the crack closes when there is no pressure in the assembly. Try pressing your thumb tightly over the top of the black tube, turning a water knob on a little bit, and switching to shower mode. With pressure in the tube, water will spray out of any crack. If you find a crack, it is likely unrepairable because the plastic flexes under pressure, which will break a glue bond. Couldn't hurt to try, though.

If you want to get the two black parts separated, you will need to remove the two round white pieces. These are the water valve bodies. Remove the screw in the center of each white piece, pull them loose, and the black pieces should come apart.

I doubt that you will be able to find replacement component parts for the faucet assembly. You will probably need to replace the whole thing. Luckily these plastic bath and shower assemblies are cheap, and pretty much standardized in terms of supply pipe fittings and spacing. Replacing the assembly will involve pulling the entire assembly up off the tub until you get access to the pipe fittings that feed it from below. Be sure to depressurize the system before you begin, of course. Check Home Depot, Lowes, etc for replacement assemblies that will fit and look good. Many of them will come with a shower hose, whether you need a new one or not. As you shop, be sure to confirm that the decorative skirt will fit in the space allocated for it in the corner.

Do a web search on "rv tub shower faucet with diverter" to see all kinds of replacements.

Let us know

Bill

Thanks Bill,
I wish it weren't true but it seems most likely you are correct that there is a crack down below. And it makes sense that the crack is only open under pressure. Water looks like it's coming only out of the end of the pipe until you attach the hose and it is under pressure.
Thanks for the tip on removing the screws in the middle and then the white pieces also. When you refer to the "decorative skirt", you mean just the base piece which is the black plastic where it interfaces to the tub in my fotos? I assume so. Hopefully those sizes are fairly standard when I do the web search which you recommended. Thanks again! And I'll let you know how the project goes.. fingers crossed.

**Kidkraz** · 03-14-2024, 10:45 PM

Rob, you should have decent access under the back side to get to the fittings that connect to the faucet. My 2619, just has an outside panel that opens to get to the fittings. Not sure on your rig how easy/hard it is. Good luck.

Rob Culver · 03-15-2024, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Culver

Thanks Bill,
I wish it weren't true but it seems most likely you are correct that there is a crack down below. And it makes sense that the crack is only open under pressure. Water looks like it's coming only out of the end of the pipe until you attach the hose and it is under pressure.
Thanks for the tip on removing the screws in the middle and then the white pieces also. When you refer to the "decorative skirt", you mean just the base piece which is the black plastic where it interfaces to the tub in my fotos? I assume so. Hopefully those sizes are fairly standard when I do the web search which you recommended. Thanks again! And I'll let you know how the project goes.. fingers crossed.

Update. Hey Bill, you were spot on with everything. I disassembled it and saw the barely visible hairline fracture on the tubular black sliding piece.

I then used PVC glue with plumbers tape to wrap the entire piece. Surprisingly it seems to have worked. No more spraying water out the side. Hard to say how well it will hold in the long run but it might. Some search results show the pvc glue as a permanent solution for hairline fractures so it's possible. I also got a quote from Trailmanor. They will sell the entire faucet kit to me for $53. So that's nice to know if for some reason the leak starts back up. Or I might just buy it as a backup because I wouldn't want to have this problem on the road. Thanks again!

Rob Culver · 03-15-2024, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kidkraz

Rob, you should have decent access under the back side to get to the fittings that connect to the faucet. My 2619, just has an outside panel that opens to get to the fittings. Not sure on your rig how easy/hard it is. Good luck.

Hi Kidkraz,
I looked under my TM to see if the shower faucets were accessible from the underside. There was a detachable screen there which was directly below the shower drain. I unscrewed the screen cover but the cover did not easily detach from the TM after that. But I think it would have with some force. I could see the approximate location of the faucets though even without removing the screen. I think one might have to temporarily remove the drain pipe to actually access the underside of the faucets from there. Looked like it could be done but not necessarily easily. I turned out not to need this access for now but good to know for future reference.

mickmanor · 03-15-2024, 07:47 PM

in the handle of the outside shower.

No need to ask me how I know.

**Kidkraz** · 03-15-2024, 11:48 PM

Rob, my 2619 doesn't have the extra storage in the rear as your 2720 does. I think you should have the same access panel within that storage area. Left street side. Open it up and you should easily see the fitting connections. My door has a lock, I can't imagine yours having one.
You might be able to get to the tub fitting from the outside shower panel, but I don't think it's the easiest way. Also don't try going thru the tub drain, you'll be nowhere near those fittings.