The Moen animation showed a $3.75 tool, a hollow brass cylinder, used to loosen the nut, but no clip. Trips to the store were fruitless. No one had heard of the tool or clip. The homeowner found the tool online and ordered it. Still, unlike the animation, the valve nut didn’t turn when he used the tool. He feared the clip on the valve base might be why.
Moen’s representative, Kristi Stolarski, contacted Jerry Capasso of Moen technical support for me. He said the clip only held the “valve body to the top of the deck and does not need to be removed to change the cartridge.” The nut removal tool is used to “unthread” the cartridge nut, he said. If it didn’t budge, pliers could help.
His advice: Turn off the water to the faucet; be sure it’s drained. Remove the cartridge nut; pull the blue stem extension up. The cartridge should come out. Loosen the screw in the blue stem extension to remove the old cartridge; attach the new one. Note the “tab” on the new cartridge. Insert the cartridge and stem extension into the valve body.
Pushing down, rotate the stem extension until the cartridge engages into a slot inside the valve body. Tighten the nut, replace the handle, and turn on the water.
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