How to quickly repair a crane box if the valve leaks

The locking device or, in other words, the faucet-box of the water tap wears out over time and, as a result, it begins to let water through, even when it is closed. The most vulnerable to wear element of the ceramic axlebox is a small PTFE ring, which is called a slip ring, put on its stem. Consider how you can repair such a locking device without the help of a plumber, without buying for this any parts instead of worn ones.

Repair the axle box, previously removed from the crane structure, as follows:
1. First, the crane box, of course, disassemble. To do this, remove the ring locking the rod on the body from it,

remove the rubber ring from the end of the case,

take out ceramic plates from the device,

and then they take out the stem of the crane box from its body.

2. The PTFE slip ring that was on the stem should ideally have a thickness of at least a millimeter, but in practice it usually wears out and becomes very thin.



3. The easiest way to replace a worn ring with a new one, however, it is almost impossible to find this part in the store, because crane manufacturers simply do not offer it separately from the crane box. Therefore, a small piece of copper wire 1-1.2 mm thick can become a way out.


4. A washer is carefully bent from any suitable piece of wire, the diameter of which should approximately correspond to the diameter of the worn fluoroplastic ring.


5. If you put a wire washer on the rod and try to place it in the crane body, then the protrusions on its inner surface will interfere. Therefore, at first, only the washer is placed inside the body, laying it evenly on its inner horizontal plane with tweezers, and only then the rod is inserted into the body, after lubricating it well.


6. Lubrication of the rod is necessary so that during the operation of the crane axle box, there is no dry friction of its surface against the metal of the manufactured wire washer. It is recommended to lubricate it with the lubricant used for processing oil seals of washing machines. You can always buy one where they sell spare parts for washing machines. Lubricate the stem abundantly, evenly distributing lubricant over its entire surface.



7. After installing the lubricated rod in the body of the crane box,

ceramic plates removed during disassembly are inserted into it,


end sealing rubber ring

and, using pliers, fix the rod head on the housing with a retaining ring.


As you can see, there is nothing complicated in repairing a self-supporting crane that doesn’t shut off water in a quality manner. A piece of copper wire can be found in any home and the only thing you have to look for is a rod grease. The wire washer instead of the fluoroplastic ring in the construction of the crane box will last a long time, and if necessary it can always be replaced with another.

A detailed video on how to repair a worn crane box