Hi,

We have a single-faucet valve in our shower(90% sure it's a moen) and some plastic part broke inside the faucet a while ago, so we removed the clear handle and have been using a pair of vise grip pliers to turn the valve stem. To make it short the pliers holding onto the valve stem were knocked and now the valve stem is broken. I had no way to shut off the shower so I had to turn the main off. The ceramic stem snapped off at a place that is pretty much flush with the cartridge so I'm not sure how we will remove the stem. I guess we will have to replace the valve. Do you guys know how difficult something like this will be or how much it will cost?

Edit: there was some water flowing out from where the stem broke, so I guess the cartridge is shot. The was also some water dripping in the basement from below the valve.






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A picture would help, but you should be able to extract the cartridge and simply replace it.

remove the 2 screws and lift off the cover plate to see why water is dripping in the basement.
contact moen for free replacement parts and tell them you also need a tool for removing the cartridge. that is a pretty simple swap out once the old cartridge is removed. removal is not so simple as they freeze in place..

Your problem is removing the old part since the piece you needed to pull on is what broke off. I cannot tell you how to do it, because every situation is different and I sometimes have to use more than one process to get it out, (and other times it comes out very easily). The first thing you have to do is break off the two white plastic tabs on top and bottom so the piece can rotate. Then you have to rotate it somehow and then pull it out. That is the part that requires that you be creative.

A sharp narrow wood chisel would work best probably. After the cartridge is replaced it may stop the leaking as well.

When the stem breaks off like that, you cannot use the puller tool. Rotating the cartridge really does nothing to help. I have hole-sawed, chiseled, tapped, needle-nosed, prayed, coaxed, sworn, with about a 50% success rate. But the last go around I had, I decided that I would use heat. I removed the escutcheon, and with a spray bottle of water handy, began to alternately melt the cartridge and then cool the valve body, and then melt again. It took some time but it worked. An indespensible tool to have is a 4" ViseGrip needle-nose. After the core was out, I used a fitting brush to clean the bore. And I added a mini butane torch to my tool wish list for the next time.

rotating the cartridge will break the calcium deposits. after that you could drill it and use a lag bolt to be honest.

Managed to get the cartridge out and went to a plumbing supply store, but they didn't have a replacement.(moen posi-temp) We went to Lowes and they had a replacement cartridge surprisingly. It was not an OEM moen, but it was a posi-temp replacement so we are in luck thankfully, because the water to the house had to be shut off or else the shower would run constantly. It was quite difficult shutting off the main at 12:30am last night because its a gate valve that hasn't been used it years, and we all know how reliable those are but luckily it worked



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If you are going to that much trouble, and it is usually unnecessary, then you probably have the center stem out. In that case, just take an old screwdriver, heat it red hot and start to melt a groove in the plastic sleeve. You will have to reheat the screwdriver to keep it hot enough, but you will eventually have groove all the way down to the brass body, WITHOUT DAMAGING the brass and the plastic sleeve will pull out.