On Saturday, January 3, 2015 9:06:41 PM UTC-7, songbird wrote:

i tried to replace them and the faucet leaked
worse with the replacement parts than with the
old ones in so they are still in there. now i
can stop the drip by putting the faucet up to
the left a little, but it is gradually getting
worse again.

i also tried replacing the ball with a better
one while also replacing the springs and cups but
that didn't help at all and it was much worse.

does coating any of these with a heavy grease
help?

Grease won't help it seal better and will wash away in
a few days, even if it's waterproof plumber's grease.

Delta has made their balls out of brass, plastic, and stainless
steel, and the latter seem to be troublefree, at least if they're
genuine Delta.

Did you install the springs correctly, with the narrower
end going into the cup? Because if the wider end goes
into the cup, it won't be able to slide freely inside its
bore.

Did you overtighten the cups with the big threaded ring on top?
That will make the cups will wear much faster and even make them
shed tiny chips. It's best to tighten the ring just barely so
the faucet spout doesn't drip, opening and closing the faucet
each time. Then tighten the ring another 1/16 turn at a time
until the leaks around the ball stem stop when you move the
stem. However when you move the stem it's perfectly normal for
a thin film of water to appear at the top of the ball, but it
will completely evaporate in less than a second.

It's best to use only genuine Delta sealing cups, or at least cups
made of the same Delrin plastic instead of rubber. I had Walmart
brand cups wear out in months, while Delta cups almost always last
5+ years, except when I inserted a coil spring backwards.