When a tub won t hold water the two potential causes are easily repaired.
Replacing old bathtub drain.
Grab hold of it and tug hard until it pops out.
Shows the flange is held in place with a threaded connection to the drain elbow aka drain shoe.
Replace the bathtub drain whether you are replacing the drain you just removed or installing a new drain use fresh plumber s putty.
Wrap the putty around the lip of the replacement drain basket.
Roll the putty between your hands until it is a long log that is about as thick as a pencil.
Use the screwdriver to disconnect and remove the tub s waste and overflow valve cover.
Bathtub drain assemblies are mysterious things.
Also replacing the old style drain stopper with a new lift and turn stopper makes maintenance and future replacements much easier.
Remove the bathtub faucet since this will be on a portion of the wall you ll be cutting away.
Between the underside of the flange and the tub surface there s a good amount of plumbers putty that seals the inside of the drain.
How to replace the old bathtub drain.
1 remove the corroded overflow plate from the face of the tub.
A rubber gasket underneath the tub seals the drain elbow to the tub.
Some spouts have a setscrew that holds them in place.
Choose your tools items needed to remove and replace a modern screw in bath tub drain not all drains are like this.
The new bathtub drain.
Somehow a lever placed well above the bottom of the tub controls whether the water stays in the tub when it s wanted and then allows it to drain when bath time is over.
The linkage may stick and be stubborn to remove.
Remove the old drain parts this photo shows how to remove the overflow plate the stopper body and linkage.