Crane Drexel Repair

I decided to sell the pretty-cool-but-not-right-for-the-house Crane Drexler ca. 1940. I hooked up the new hoses to the new copper supply lines and turned it on and it acted like it was possessed, rusty water squirting everywhere. I needed to fix this if I wanted to get good money for it.

Had to get clever with pieces of pipe and the crescent wrench to get the valves out

Since the spout of the sink is integral to the sink body, the valve bodies themselves are sealed to the body and empty into a chamber that mixes hot and cold and then they water goes out the spout. The valves were leaking where they were sealed to the body.

Once I got that valve out of there - the part on the right is the valve body that seals to the porcelain body of the sink to go to the spout. The hole is where water from the open valve goes into the sink body. On the left is the cartridge which is … — Once I got that valve out of there - the part on the right is the valve body that seals to the porcelain body of the sink to go to the spout. The hole is where water from the open valve goes into the sink body. On the left is the cartridge which is two pieces and threads into the main body. At the bottom is the valve seat washer which combined with the valve body creates the "water gate" actuated by a threaded shaft and cross handle.

Valve body is 1&1/4" so 1&1/4" sink drain gaskets work well

This is the valve seat washer. Very warn compared to new

Cleaning out where the old gaskets were leaking

The valve body should be tighter to the sink body than the cartridge because the cartridge is supposed to be serviceable so you don't want the rest of the valve to turn when you try to take out the cartridge to replace the seat washer.

That thing in top opens the drain and was working.

So that's how you service a Drexel sink.