How to Remove a Stuck Moen Shower Cartridge 1200 /1225 /1222

So you have a stuck moen cartridge? In this video we show you How to Remove a Stuck Moen 1200/2500 Shower Cartridge. A stuck shower cartridge is a real bummer. No more stuck cartridge in faucet syndrome for you after this! Once in a while you get a stuck moen shower cartridge that just won't budge, and this one broke 2 Moen cartridge removal tools, until we went old school on it with a tap and die kit to complete this moen 1200 shower cartridge replacement. This should work on a stuck moen 1225 cartridge, and many other brands as well, like a Delta shower cartridge or a Kohler shower cartridge.

Stuck moen faucet cartridge removal procedure:

By now you have tried in vain to use the Moen shower cartridge removal tool and you have broken the inside of the Moen cartridge leaving the shell of the shower cartridge still lodged inside the shower valve housing. As you begin your Moen shower cartridge replacement
you will need a tap and tie kit with a 1/2" tap to dig the 1/2" threads into the core of the old
Moen shower valve cartridge.

Beware that for this moen 1200 shower cartridge replacement project, not all tap and die kits go up to a 1/2" sized width, so make sure you get a kit with one or you'll never get the bolt to thread inside the stuck cartridge in moen faucet. If you have a Delta shower cartridge, this trick might also work to loosen that stuck cartridge in delta faucet housing. Once you have threaded the center core of the stuck moen 1222 cartridge, then you screw the 1/2" bolt into the core, making sure to use those giant washers those play a vital role in pushing against the front face of the shower valve opening to remove stuck cartridges.

How to remove stuck shower faucet cartridge:

Now that the bolt has threaded into the moen shower cartridge, use your wrench to turn clockwise tot he right, and soon your stuck moen 1225 cartridge will be a stuck cartridge no more. As you continue to turn the bolt with the wrench, it will draw the stuck Moen cartridge toward the front of the valve opening. Then you should be able to pull the stuck shower cartridge the rest of the way out with pliers. Kiss that stuck moen shower cartridge goodbye!

How to remove a stuck moen 1225 cartridge

Now you know how to remove stuck shower faucet cartridge. Enjoy your moen 1200 cartridge removal and your moen 1200 shower cartridge replacement.

[jeffostroff]

🚘🚗 See our other Channel for CarBuyingTips.com also:

[mmyshrall]

Your video saved me hundreds of dollars. I was unable to pull the cartridge myself so I reluctantly called a plumber who charged me $200 just to pull it out. Despite having a Moen puller tool, he broke the cartridge and the metal casing was stuck in the pipe. His recommended solution was to cut a hole in the drywall and replace all the pipes for $950. To add insult to injury we had to leave the water off to the rest of the house while the cartridge was out.

I picked up a 1/2" tap and eye bolt at Home Depot for under $15 and was able to follow your solution and do it myself. Thanks for being a life saver!

[virginiaw]

OMG! The guys at Ace Hardware just shook their heads at me when I asked how to do this. Of course, I'm a lady so they didn't take me seriously. They just encouraged me to call a plumber Thanks a million times for helping me prove that I can do what I can learn!

[solarblueu]

Jeff - you are a generous and brilliant man to release this secret on removing a stuck Moen cartridge. My neighbor paid a professional plumber over $300 to replace a shower cartridge. He broke the cartridge, messed around trying to remove it and finally just cut the valve out and soldered caps on the copper water lines leaving my neighbor with a huge and expensive mess to take care of. The plumber told my neighbor he would charge an additional $1500 to replace the valve he removed. My neighbor called me to replace the cartridge in the same type of valve. Of course, that cartridge broke also. Your method extracted it with ease. I was out $10 for the tap tool and a few bucks for a bolt, nuts and washers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your video saved my neighbor another $300 plus an additional $1500 the plumber would charge to put in a new valve. His cost - $3600. My cost - $10. I will stick with your brilliant method.

[bordenf]

I just followed your instructions and removed my stuck cartridge. 1/2" tap, 1/2" bolt. Worked like a charm! Saved me a bundle of money!

[refhead]

I want to thank you for this video. I ran into a 1200 brass cartridge that 2 plumbers attempted to remove before quoting $1500 to replace the whole valve assembly, not including drywall, texture and paint. This is my sister in laws house. After removing the clip, I used a puller from Home Depot that basically pulled out the guts and left the brass cylinder in the valve assembly. I lubed it up pretty good with WD-40 Specialist, which also removed a lot of debris. Let it set for 15 min, then sprayed again and waited another 15. I then attempted to tap it with the 1/2" tap, but just could not get it to bite. I had purchased a Milwaukee Red Helix Titanium drill bit, put it in my Milwaukee Drill, and set speed to 1 and the clutch to 6. Being careful not to touch the valve body with the drill bit. Inserted it and about a 1/2 turn or so of the drill, it grabbed, but clutched. I increased the clutch to 10, a little nudge of the trigger and voila, the cartridge turned. Being sure not to let it spin and damage the housing, drilling a half turn at a time and lightly pulling, it came right out. Flushed it out by turning main on ever so slightly, and slid the new cartridge in. I am sure this 1200 cartridge was 20+ years old. I am sure this method will only work on the 1200 brass cartridge. $50 investment.

[johnboylan]

Jeff - The comment I made below was prior to following your advise. Well, I followed your advise and my broken cartridge came out EXACTLY like your video! I used a piece of 1/2" of threaded rod for my "puller" with 3/4" washers. I placed a 1/2" washer on my puller first against the turning nut then piled on the 3/4" washers. I didn't have a Tap & Die Set so this DIY gave me a reason to get one. When I ran the tap in, I went as far in as I could so I would have enough meat for the threaded rod to hold to. As you know having worked with brass, SLOW is the BEST speed for this extaction. When I felt the puller loosen up, I tugged it and the cartridge came right out! It was so SIMPLE! I didn't use any "plumbers language" AT ALL. LOL!!! Of note, I had to moved the washers around keep them in alignment but overall was not a problem. If I were to do this more often, as you probably do, I would use a 3/4" steel bushing (the length of the washer stack), a 1/2" washer, and 3/4" washer. Conclusion: I was quoted $375 by a plumbing company to do this repair, which I started but ran in this problem. The cost of the T&D kit was around $65. I had the piece of threaded rod so all I needed was a box of washers. So with around $75 into it, I saved myself $300 by doing it Thanks again for sharing your technique. I is INVALUABLE! - John

[SteveNewman-se]

Thank you very much for taking the time to share this solution! I just used this truck to save a friend $850 and get this water turned back on, since there are no shutoff valves except at the street, and now you have to call the water utility for them to turn it on and off remotely.
One thing I changed a little... I used the outside housing of my Moen cartrige removal tool (the large outside part with the internal threads) againt the valve body to give the cartridge clearance to come all the way out, instead of using a box end wrench or something else. The tool is made exactly the right size to sit against the edge of the valve body and allow space for the cartridge to exit the housing, so it worked perfectly.
Hope this helps someone!

[skuncl]

This is the one video that saved my a**!
Had visions of tearing out the wall to replace the entire valve. None of those puller things ever work. Because the valve I get has always been in there since the seventies.
If you're ever in Nebraska, I will buy you dinner! Thanks, Jeff!

[Straycurrent]

These Moen cartridges have been an enormous frustration for me over the years. I never thought of this method and am really glad to learn about it. Thanks for the great tip.

[lrkenny]

This worked for me within 5 minutes. I asked a half dozen people at the HD and none of them had a solution. Thanks for posting.

[derekgoodman]

You are the man! I had 4 hardware store guys tell me I was SOL and would have to buy a whole new system and probably hire someone to install. For a $15 investment in a tap & die set, and about 15 minutes of my time and I’m all set. Thanks so much. This is the only video I could find that could solve my problem.

[hunisys]

Jeff. Thank you so very very much for sharing this tip. My son and I were totally stumped on how to get the extremely stuck cartridge sleeve out of the pipe. I showed my Son and we followed your video exactly. It took us 10 minutes to pull out the cartridge sleeve that was stuck. It saved us alot of time and alot of money! Your experiences you shared boosts confidence in DIYers like me! I can't thank you enough. YOU'RE THE BEST!!!

[WiliamBennettwildarbennett]

I help do maintenance on about 450 apartments. And had these MOEN cartridges and wound up having to call a plumber to replace the who li e valve body because neither I or the plumber could get it out. So thank You for an excellent idea.

[james]

This video literally saved the day. I had the replacement part, but the original was stuck good. Heat didn’t help, but this video was exactly what I needed.

Installation of the replacement complete, thanks to you! 🙌

[billthebunny]

THANK YOU for making this video! The bolt trick saved my beloved mid-century faucet from being replaced completely! I used washers that had a 21mm opening to free the stuck cartridge and it worked a treat.

[vampyrechan]

Good looking out man, great instructions and pointers. Two inexperienced gals with no money for a plumber took a leap of faith and got the job done! Major props ☺️

[amandatimmerman]

Thank you SOOO much for this video! My husband got in this exact situation and this worked like a charm on our house from the 70s. He was so defeated until he tried this. Thank you again!

[CFKoder]

You saved me so much time and effort with this video! I was about to start cutting pipes and reframing for a new shower, but then I saw your video and thought this was a brilliant idea. Followed your advice and it worked first try, pulling out the whole cartridge! You saved me so much time, energy, and money... so please accept my huge Thank You! (liked and subscribed!)

[brittanybates]

This was so incredibly helpful!! My husband and I are not handy in the slightest and we were able to follow this step by step to replace the cartridge. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!