Tub faucet problem

[afraid_of_bears]

Got the trailer winterized. Everything went well until I got to the shower. I unscrewed the hose and a bunch of pieces fell out. There was a little spring and a couple of other pieces. The spring of course, went down the drain. There is no retrieving it. I tried. I can't seem to see/figure out what holds these pieces in place in the faucet. Now, if I turn on the water, water comes out both the faucet and the shower at the same time. So, if filling the tub, water will come down from the shower as well.

My question; Am I going to have to replace the whole faucet assembly as I can't see a way of putting the parts back in even with another spring? If so, how hard is it to replace? There is no access to the back of the shower fixture without removing the refrigerator. As I don't want to rewinterize, nothing's going to get done until Spring. I just don't want to stew about this all winter if it's going to be an easy fix.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[gijoecam]

The spring is likely stainless steel and not particularly magnetic. But it's probably sitting in the trap waiting to be fished out (or cling to your wife's/daughter's hair and cause a snarled mess of hair LOL!)

If you can't get to the back-side of the faucet, you're kind of screwed for either replacing the faucet or retrieving the spring. With our layout, there is an access in the bedroom for the back of the faucet, and the storage compartment underneath that bunk provides access to the trap and drain plumbing.

They definitely don't design these with maintenance and repairs in mind any more!!

[afraid_of_bears]

I tried the magnet trick with no luck. The only thing that went down the drain after it was some antifreeze. As the grey tank is empty except for some antifreeze, I guess I'm back to waiting for Spring. I like the strainer idea.

[stubblejumper]

Spring should not have gone past the bottom of the P trap.. unless you ran water after it went in. You should be able to use a pencil magnet to retrieve it by sticking it down the drain. If you ran water, it will be in the gray tank and should come out if you drain tank into a 5 gallon pail with a strainer.

[Glendale_290]

You are wise to leave it till next year. Chances are you can get a special order spring from your dealer should your substitute not work properly. If all else fails replacing the unit is pretty easy providing you get the exact same model.

I lost my faucet handle screw down the drain, it happens to all of us.

Lou

[afraid_of_bears]

After a bit of fiddling, I found a similar spring from a pen and managed to get everything back together (properly I think). I guess my question has now changed to what is this spring for? Is it going to make a difference if it is a different size? I haven't tested it, as I don't want to go and get more antifreeze, but I think I feel a bit better about the situation.