The trip lever waste and overflow drain plunger will not come out of drain pipe. I removed the face plate and tried to pull out the rod and stopper but it will not budge. It's probably been many years since it was used to stop the water in the tub. I have tried all sorts of penetrating oil, spray lubricants. 10w/30, hot water, cold water, liquid carb cleaner, but nothing worked. I have used pliers to try to pull it up but it won't budge. I straightened a wire coat hanger to try to dislodge it and was unsuccessful. I did determine that the coat hanger travels down the overflow pipe further that the location of the stopper. So apparently the pipe where the stopper is currently is larger than the stopper as evidenced by the water draining properly when I pour water in the overflow. This system does not connect to the tub's drain. Rather the brass stopper blocks the flow when lowered into position. Is there something that can be poured into the overflow to free up the stopper? Or any other suggestions for freeing up the stuck stopper?



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water goes down the overflow because the stopper is hollow. you are doing about everything possible to lift the stopper. kep trying with the bent coathanger.

If that is unsuccessful, you will need to disassemble the drain (overflow tube) to remove it.

Thanks for the tip. That explains why everything I dump in the overflow drain just travels out. Will spray penetrating lube down the SIDES of pipe to hopefully work overnight. Then, tomorrow I will put a small hook at the end of coat hanger and try to pry it loose after hooking brass stopper from bottom.



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YOU probably need something stronger than a coat hanger. I use a piece of 1/8" brass rod with a "V" on the end.

I have no idea whether this will work, but like chicken soup, it couldn't hurt. Fill it up with crushed ice. It is essentially a pipe within a pipe. It's worth a shot, and you will be no worse off than you are now.