Repairing Single-Lever Faucets 

By: Carol Selby, Extension Home Economist, Saginaw County 
and Betty Shelby, Extension Home Economist, Kent County. 

Single-lever (one handle) faucets are trickier to repair 
than the stem faucets mentioned on pages earlier. There 
are several different styles of single-lever faucets, with 
each being repaired differently and some often requiring 
special tools for disassembly. Most manufacturers sell a 
complete repair kit for their brand of faucet. The 
rotating ball faucet is the most common, and below are the 
steps in its repair. 

1. Under the shank of the handle is a set screw which must 
be removed with a hex wrench. Do not take the screw all 
the way out. It is easily lost. (Vis. 7) 

2. If the drip is from the spout, replace the two rubber 
valve seats and steel springs in the bottom of the faucet 
body. Unscrew the cap assembly and lift out the ball/ stem 
and cam assembly. (Vis. 8) 

3. With fingers on long nose pliers, remove the valve 
seats and springs. Push replacements firmly into place. 
While you have the ball out, check for corrosion and 
replace if necessary. (Vis. 9) 

4. When replacing the ball, make sure that the peg that 
projects from the side of cavity fits into the oblong slot 
on the ball. (Vis. 10) 

5. Replace the cam assembly as shown, making sure that the 
small tab on the side fits into a slot on the faucet body; 
screw on the cap assembly. (Vis. 11) 

6. Before reattaching the faucet handle check for leaks 
around the stem by moving the ball/ stem to the "on" 
position. If there is a leak, use the tip of a small 
screwdriver to tighten the adjusting ring by turning it 
clockwise. If, in order to stop the leak, you have to 
tighten the ring so that the handle is difficult to work, 
then the entire cam assembly needs to be replaced.