Bath Taps - Shower diverter (lever) leak repair?

[Laszloguy]

Hi there! our Heritage bath taps (see attached image) have a leak from the shower lever when diverted to the shower head.

Unfortunately this model is over 15 years old and spare parts are no longer available. As a very amateur DIY-er I am not familiar with the inner workings of these sort of taps and haven't taken it apart yet to take a look. Am I correct in assuming that that there will be a brass & ceramic valve cartridge operated by the lever (just like on other taps)?

If so any suggestions where I might be able to source a replacement cartridge? If I can't source a cartridge / valve, is it worth trying to clean up the old one / may be replacing a washer to see if I'll get a bit more use out of the taps? How do I remove the lever - simply by unscrewing the nut on top of the lever?

Any help / suggestions would be very much appreciated. Don't want to fork out £100's on new taps if this can be repaired. Thanks!

 

[steadyon]

1. More likely to be some sort of proprietary diverter valve.
2. Are you sure it is coming from the lever? The nut above the lever appears to have lime-scale around it where the threads end, and the vertical pipe above it looks slightly off plumb.
3. Turn the taps off, undo that nut and see if there is a rubber washer in there. If so, replace it. Probably a 1/2" shower rubber washer.
4. If it is coming from the lever, you may find a nut under the diverter valve which can be slackened to undo it, or there may be a grub screw behind it. In fact your photograph appears to show a hexagonal chrome nut on top, but this could be a reflection in the chrome. In my experience however it is quite rare to be able to fix these without manufacturer's spare parts.

 

[Laszloguy]

1. More likely to be some sort of proprietary diverter valve.
2. Are you sure it is coming from the lever? The nut above the lever appears to have lime-scale around it where the threads end, and the vertical pipe above it looks slightly off plumb.
3. Turn the taps off, undo that nut and see if there is a rubber washer in there. If so, replace it. Probably a 1/2" shower rubber washer.
4. If it is coming from the lever, you may find a nut under the diverter valve which can be slackened to undo it, or there may be a grub screw behind it. In fact your photograph appears to show a hexagonal chrome nut on top, but this could be a reflection in the chrome. In my experience however it is quite rare to be able to fix these without manufacturer's spare parts.

Thanks for the feedback. The leak is from inside coming from the base of the lever - so most likely the diverter value. I'll have a go at taking the steps you suggest, but I guess it's looking like new taps as replacement parts not available, I suppose 15 - 20 years of constant use isn't so bad a lifespan.

 

[Ben-gee]

You may find some orings that you can replace or at least grease up with silicone grease.

But as you say they have done quite well really.