I have a pair of bathroom sinks with the same faucets installed.

http://www.designtool.kohler.com/us/...sp?item=227602

and a matching tub faucet.

one valve stem appears to be leaking, as water comes out the top just
under the T-bar across the top. the tapered piece is screwed onto a
threaded insert, but about 1/2" up from the base where it abuts the sink.

of course, we have extremely hard water and it's probably full of
mineral deposits, because i've been working for a couple days trying to
get it off.

there's nothing to grab onto because of the taper. i've been smacking it
with a hammer trying to vibrate it a bit to break it loose. there's no
way to get vinegar into the inside threads. i've tried putting vinegar
soaked towels around the bottom, to try to hold some acid in, but
there's a pretty good seal on the bottom (there's no water leakage out
the bottom from the leak).

i've managed to get a single non-leaking one off (out of the 6) so that
i could see how it's constructed. these are original to the house, about
10 years, installed by the contractor. there is no other mechanism (such
as setscrews) holding the valve cover on besides the (very fine) threads
on the inside of the cover.

i've tried rubber coated gloves to get a grip on the tapered section.
the T handle can't be used as a lever arm, because it's slipped onto a
ridged part of the top of the valve, and the valve is of course not
moveable.

is there some special tool that can be used to grab something like this
part (tapered, polished chrome) or do i have to destroy the village to
save it? that would be a major expense, having to then destroy all the
others that aren't coming off to replace all 3 sets, along with ripping
a hole in the tiled wall to get to the tub deck (since the d*mn
contractor didn't leave an access hole to get to the bottom of the tub
faucets).

thanks,
charlie