Doug wrote:
I've got a bathtub where the drain is leaking.
After punching a hole in the ceiling, I see that the gasket under the
bathtub is shot.

I suspect that the construction is usual: there is a screw in chrome
plated tube that goes thru the topside of the tub, screwing into a
cast brass elbow below the tube.

Trouble is, the plumbing is the 1942 original installed when the
house
was built. There's a fair amount of corrosion under the tub around
where the gasket has been leaking. Also, the elbow has about two
inches of clearance between two beams, one on each side. The brass
elbow is screwed onto galvanized fitted piping that goes all the way
to the cast rion stack. Even if I cut that piping, there is no room
to
get a wrench onto that brass elbow to break it free.

I've seen special wrenches made for the job of gripping the upper
inserted tubing. However, I don't see how they can grip this design
of
upper tubing plus I suspect that the torque required will be great
due
to the corrosion.

Any suggestions of how to free the upper tubing?

tnx,
Doug


Due to the difficulty in getting at it, I'd sure be tempted to dig out
what part of the gasket remains and apply some sealant to see if that
will do the trick.

Sure, it's not the "complete fix", but that sealant will do a better
job than the shot gasket has been doing for however many decades since
it began to fail.


Joe