wrote:

On Apr 15, 7:49*am, "Smarty" wrote:
Oren wrote:
On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:49:49 +0000 (UTC), "Smarty"
wrote:

Good luck with your Kohler faucet! Next time mine fails I am
putting in Deltas.....!

Don't rule out a Moen. A fine piece of equipment.

Very good suggestion!
My kitchen has a Moen faucet. It has been trouble-free for 15+
years!

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Thanks everyone for your insightful input. I really appreciate it...

Just one question... if you take a look at the photos that I had
attached to the original question, there is a brass piece that is
resting on the countertop surface. This piece does not come off when I
unscrewed the chrome handle off the other faucet handles. So I don't
get how undoing the hex nut below the countertop will help relieve
pressure on the chrome piece that I am trying to unscrew.
I guess my Kohlor faucet design is a little different from yours in
the sense that yours does not have this extra brass piece that is
separate from the rest of the faucet handle. So in your case, it would
be good to unscrew the hex nut at the bottom of the countertop.

Thanks again

I once again went back and looked at the 3 photos you have originally
posted, and your faucet looks the same as mine exact for the handle
shape which is slightly different. I am pretty confident that we both
have the same valve and trim design. Please see the Kohler exploded
parts drawing I have taken from the Kohler web site and then labelled
further to make it easy to explain to you what is involved. I suggest
you print a copy of this jpeg for reference. See:

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/720...plodedview.jpg

On the right of the drawing are all the stuff that sits above the
countertop, including the escutcheon Part "A" which is threaded into a
collar Part "B". This upper Escutcheon assembly is unscrewed leaving
Part B still remaining on the top of the countertop. In my case the
Part A escutcheon screwed off with a lot of force being applied,
breaking the silicone caulk seal at the base of Part A where it met the
collar, Part B. You may not be able to do so, and this is why the
undercounter removal approach was also offered.

On the left side of the drawing is the valve body Part D and the large
hex retaining nut, Part E. By loosening the hex nut, pressure being
applied upward on the valve body which is pulling the part B collar
down from the top of the countertop is relieved, making it much easier
to unscrew the escutcheon. It may be neccesary for you to loosen this
nut using the large sized basin wrench I recommended. In my case, I did
not need to do so, but it may be required in your case, depending upon
how tight the nut is fastened and how corroded / stuck / caulked the
escutcheon actually is. Even if you do not need the wrench to remove
the escutcheon, you WILL need it to tighten it after re-installing it.


The actual leaking cartridge you are trying to replace is labelled Part
C. It can only be accessed once the escutcheon is screwed off. To
remove it requires yet another trick, to loosen and remove the special
nut holding it in. As I mentioned earlier, I eventually had to take my
valve body to a Kohler dealer who used a vice and socket / ratchet to
get this other unlabelled nut (part number 46115 on the drawing) to
come out. He said it is very common for this part to get corroded /
frozen in place, particularly on factory installed valves which are
usually over-tightened (according to him).

I have described and illustrated the Kohler vanity faucets such as you
and I have (widespreads) in a very detailed manner. Kohler also
provides such information on their website.

Please let me know if I can help you further, and best of luck...

Smarty




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