We just got back from a short trip to Vienna, Virginia to visit my family for the holidays. When we arrived, my mom had left me a note in the bathroom we were using.
Here it is:
My mom, she’s so cute, doesn’t she know that this sign taunted me the whole visit?
Besides, what kind of daughter would I be if I left this minor repair to a plumber? Puh-lease!
So, here was the deal with the hair clip in the sink. It was her way of holding the stopper up because the rod inside the sink had rusted and broken off. (Pretty creative in my opinion.)
But not the real fix for a sink stopper that would not stay up.
Let’s back up before I show you how to repair the stopper. Thank you to Dvorty Girl for the excellent illustration above that she posted on WikiHow.com.
Sink parts:
- Drain Down Rod
- Joint Clamp Clip
- Horizontal Rod
- Nut
- Ball, Rod, Nut & Gasket
- Stopper Notch
- Pop Up Drain Stopper
Materials:
(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)
Universal Pivot Ball Replacement Kit
Pliers (maybe)
Repairing a Pop Up Sink Drain Instructions:
1. Clear out enough room so you can work under the sink. (Okay, my mom is going to kill me for showing you her cluttered sink vanity. But, who’s sink vanity doesn’t look like this?! Please leave a comment and tell her that she’s not the only one!)
2. Lay down some towels to cushion the edge of the vanity (or your back, rib cage or hips will be in screaming pain.)
3. Locate the (3)horizontal rod and (5) nut at the back of your drain that holds the (5) ball, rod & gasket.
4. Unscrew the (5) nut with your fingers or use pliers if it is really tight. Pull out the ball and gasket.
5. To release the (3) horizontal rod from the (1) down rod, squeeze the (2) joint clamp clip between your fingers and slide it off the end of the horizontal rod.
6. Lay out your old pieces to assess the damage. You may or may not need a new gasket (which is sold separately.) This one was broken and needed replacing.
7. Match the old pivot ball with the new ones in the kit. Be sure to choose the one that is exactly the same size. Thread the (5) new ball onto the new (3) horizontal rod.
8. Next thread the new gasket onto the horizontal rod and then the nut.
9. Next feed one end of the (2) joint clip clamp (the kit I bought contained two white stoppers instead of a joint clip clamp). Only add one side or one stopper at this point.)
10. Feed the (3) horizontal rod into the (1) down rod.
11. Line the other end of the (3) horizontal bar up and slip the ball joint into the hole at the back of the drain. Ideally the horizontal bar will be parallel to the floor, but you may have to make some minor adjustments at the end.
12. Screw the nut back onto the drain making sure the ball joint and gasket are lined up properly.
13. Now add the second stopper or the other end of the (2) joint clamp clip to the back of the (3) horizontal rod.
14. Look inside the drain, and notice the post end of the (5) ball joint inside the drain.
Pull up on the (1) down drain rod and make sure that it moves up and down freely and the post in the drain moves as well.
15. This next step requires a little patience, so put your patience cap on. Feed the drain stopper back into the drain. You want the end of the stopper to be at a 90 degree angle from the ball joint post as show below.
Gently rotate the stopper 90 degrees until the end of the stopper hooks the post.
16. Once the stopper has been properly rotated and hooked onto the ball joint post, test your sink by pulling up and own on the (1) drain down rod.
And you are done!
Pretty Handsome Guy thought it would be funny to re-arrange the letters in the sign.
And just to prove to you that my Mom can also be handy, this is a photo I found of her from the 1970’s when my parents were building my childhood home.
Next time your drain stopper is broken, I hope you will put off calling a plumber and fix it yourself!
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Thanks for these instructions. My stopper has been stuck for months. This handy girl (me) knew that she wanted to try fixing it herself. Will have out of town visitors this week, so I said “better now, then later”. It’s fixed!!!
I use a scrap piece of leather. I find that my tools will still mar through cloth or rubber. But the leather gives good traction and is tough enough to prevent the tools from doing damage. Find an old belt or purse or shoe and cut it up!
Not a bad thought. After looking at the images of your mom’s broken actuator, it may be the easiest to just nip off the post that catches the pop-up, and put the thing back together with just the ball as the sealer. I’ll figure it out. Thanks again!
So I ended up on this page while searching for a way to *eliminate* the pop-up stopper. Basically, I want to remove everything, and cap off the actuator hole. Anybody sell a little kit for that, do you suppose? I ask, only because I had no idea there was a universal repair kit for the actuator as you’ve shown. I’ve just always kluged mine back together when I clean them out. I’m just done with the hair-catcher post actuator in there. I don’t need to ever stopper the sink, and just want to use a drop=in strainer.
And one other note to get off my chest: Why don’t we have something better than this “technology” for our drains now? Yikes.
Thanks for the great write-up. If I hadn’t known how to do it before, it sure would now. You’ve helped a lot of people save time, money and frustration!
Darell, You should check at your local hardware store and ask someone in plumbing. Okay, but here is something that you could try (although keep all your parts because it may not work. What if you cut a piece of rubber (like from an old inner tube) and fit it in the nut before screwing it back on? I’d put a basin underneath while you test it out for a while. In theory it should work…maybe?
Your directions are great & easy to follow! But I still have a problem with it leaking. Did you have only 1 gasket. I replaced the faucet & it came with a ball & rod, but the ball was too large. so I bought the replacement kit with correct size ball. The faucet came with 2 gaskets, 1 for each side of the ball. I don’t remember if there was a 2nd gasket on the old ball that broke.
Extremely easy to follow. Awesome help.
I just have to unscrew and remove the faucet and then the screen etc? What kind of wrench won’t scratch the chrome.
I’ve used a cloth between the wrench and the faucet before. Or a rubber jar opener.
I brought it to work and had it cut. I need to buy a Saws All Thanks.
One other thing. Now my Moen faucet leaks if I don’t leave the handle turned all the way to the right. Do I really have to replace the entire cartridge? The faucet has one handle that you lift and I don’t see how to get into the cartridge.
Well, you can just replace the rubber washer if you still like your faucet. But, you’ll still have to take it apart. Usually by the time our faucets leak they look awful (because of hard water) and I like to just replace them. but, that decision is up to you.
I have everything apart and keep my phone with your great directions by my side. Thanks so much!!! Here is the issue. The new horizontal rod that I have attached to the new ball is a bit too long and I can’t get the darn ball back into the pipe no matter how much I twist. ( my sink cabinet is only 18″ wide. Shall I cut off a bit of the rod? Also, the gasket is almost broken and my local hardware box store doesn’t carry them. Help.
Marylynn,
You’ll probably have to contact Moen to see if they can send you a new gasket. And, I’m not sure I follow the issue with the down rod correctly, but if you have to you can probably cut it short. Or would it work to attach the horizontal rod before inserting the ball into the drain?
Hi, I purchased the repair kit after seeing your website. It works fine now. Other sites tell you to replace the whole drain piece, which is crazy.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Great tutorial–photos helped tremendously! Just fixed our bathroom sink this morning thanks to you. 🙂 Do you have any advice on how to get the drain stopper to sit up higher to allow more water to go down? I’ve moved that rod into 3 different holes but am not getting the results I’m wanting. Thanks again–will definitely bookmark your blog!
Thanks Pretty Handy Girl. I’ve just fixed my sink pop up for less than £10. Would have been at least £45 if I’d called a plumber. Not only have I saved money, doing it myself has made me feel great! 😀
YEAH!!! That’s what I like to hear.
I followed all the directions, and everything seems to work, except for the last step. I cannot get the stopper to hook on to the rod. I am trying to be patient but it’s not working. 🙁 Please advise.