Delta 1300 & 1400 Cartridge Puller Removal Tool

Review of Slim Gem Delta Valve Puller Tool In my DIY history, I have found what separates me from a pro is usually one of three things: 1. Knowledge (including nomenclature), 2. Strength / Dexterity, and 3. Tools. With YouTube, problem #1 is almost non-existent. This cartridge puller tool solves problems #2 and #3 in one fell swoop. I had a leaking Delta shower where I correctly diagnosed the problem--a worn out Delta cartridge. I bought an OEM replacement, watched a few videos, and was ready to perform this apparently very simple task. However, when I got to the part where you "simply" "remove the cartridge" it would not come out. I pulled as much as I dared, but knew that if I bent or broke the valve body (or connecting water lines) I was screwed and could cause me to have to blow out the entire tile shower to fix it. Maybe I was just not strong enough to pull it out, or maybe I did not have the right technique. I'm not sure, and will never know because I bought the right tool which solved the problem. I watched a YouTube video once (the instructions were on a sticker on the tool also but unless you know all the lingo the instructions were not that helpful), and in seconds (literally) I had the old valve out. When I say it was no sweat, I mean it was super easy. A few minutes to **carefully** get out the calcium deposits that were holding the cartridge in, and the new cartridge slid right in and the shower was (ALMOST) back in operation (see below). This tool was the most expensive DIY tool I have purchased to date, but even at one hundred and seventy-five dollars it was a bargain. First, I'm sure this would have been the cost of a plumber to come do the job. Second, even the plumber might have bent or broken the valve body to get the cartridge out. Third, I still have the tool for the next shower problem. Fourth, this thing is a work of metal art. Custom made like a military grade grenade for this one purpose. Fifth, I know how to solve this problem next time and I have the satisfaction of a job well done. PRO TIP: You must turn off the power to the electric hot water heater(s) and the water off to the whole house before you start fixing the shower. Then, remember to turn the both back on in reverse order (water then power). Leave a faucet in the bathroom on before you restore power to make sure the water heater tanks are full before you start heating the water. As to the ALMOST issue mentioned above, problem #1 came back around this morning for the first shower. The old cartridge had an obvious way to set the stop for how hot the water can get. The new one had no markings and the packaging had no directions on how to do it. After all, they expect a pro to be using this. Naturally, it was set to stoopid lukewarm at the factory because nobody ever died from a lukewarm shower (although I almost did). After my wife had to flee the lukewarm shower to go to another bathroom, I had to DIY problem solve again. The new cartridge had a quasi-hidden adjustment (problem #1) that was not obvious nor mentioned anywhere. I removed the handle and turned the adjustment counter-clockwise while pulling out (problem #2) until I could not turn it further. Result = hot shower a day late. In case you are curious, I was working with Delta OEM cartridge RP46074. It was twice as expensive as the after market version, but I didn't want to do the job twice. This is the cartridge with the gray part that is visible. The tool bites into two sides of the old cartridge during removal. I supposed the cartridge could be used again even with the marks because they do not go all the way through. So, if you weren't sure what you needed, you could pull the cartridge with this tool, take pictures, put it back in, go to HD or Amazon and buy what you needed. However, I recommend having the new cartridge before pulling the old. The outside color is all I needed to be sure. Again with problem #1, the tool says it works with 1300 and 1400 series cartridges, but 46074 does not have a 1300 nor a 1400 in it and nothing really helps me know which one (if either) was mine. I rolled the dice on the tool working with "modern" versions, and the one I have is the slightly newer of the two available. I didn't really know which cartridge I had, so I bought one of each and opened and used the one I needed and will return the other one. A pro would know what 1300 and1400 means and that the words valve and cartridge are used interchangeably, but are, in fact, two very different parts (this tool pulls the cartridge NOT the valve body). Each new DIY problem is a venture down a new problem #1 name game trail. Take notes, so you don't have to go down the same trail again.

I was replacing a shower cartridge and couldn't pull the old one out. Was at the point of putting a lot of force on it and thought I might break the cartridge or worse, pipes in the wall. Took a break to give it some thought and checked to see if there was a special tool to pull these cartridges out, and here you go. I put the brass bonnet ring back on the old cartridge so I could turn the house water back on and just live with the clogged old cartridge for another week until this tool arrived. I suggest you look up some online videos for how to use this tool, and also videos of people who are dealing with getting the remains of cartridges they broke out of the valve body. One tip is that you don't need to screw this all the way onto the valve body until the threads bottom out, which I did. You won't hurt anything but the tool will then only have enough stroke to pull the cartridge part way out, so you will have to loosen the thumb screws, then back the tool off the valve body a good number of turns, before resetting the tool and tightening the thumb screws for a second pull. I had the old crusty cartridge out in only a few minutes with minimal effort. When reinstalling your new cartridge you can use this tool to evenly press it all the way into the valve body, just don't tighten the thumbscrews, no need to do so when pressing it in. Maybe use some silicone grease on the O-rings so it goes in easily. FYI if you had the idea of using this tool to pull a cartridge for cleaning or inspection, I don't recommend that. The thumbscrews are pointed on the inside and bite into the plastic of the old cartridge. They only put dimples in mine, but if you really tightened them down firmly you might cause damage that would leak if you put it back in and tried to re-use it. My assumption is the cost of this tool and a real Delta cartridge is a little less than having a real plumber come over to do the job, but I didn't call around to check. If you have other baths in your house with the same valve, which I do, you may get another occasion to use it and will be glad you have it. In conclusion, given the cost of this tool, you might try pulling your old cartridge out by hand first and maybe you will get lucky. If it is stuck in there really well and you are getting ready to put some serious force on it, might be best to put it back together and order this tool. The manufacturer has paid me nothing for the endorsement.

This is a poorly designed tool, It doesn't work on an cartridge that in service for many years, may work if the cartridge that's is fairly new. When tool was used according to manufacture descriptions it kept slipping on the wing bolts, eventually the top of the cartridge came apart, I had to remove the rest of the shower cartridge by breaking it carefully because I could damage the water cartridge housing. Would not buy it again. I Knew at the beginning that this cartridge was going to be a problem, as I previously replaced one in one of my bathrooms and was difficult to remove because of age. I bought this tool as I believed it would make things easier. This tool was a waste of money.

The price may seem a bit high, but it's a beautifully designed and built tool. It's the kind of quality in a tool that makes it look like astronauts should be using this on the space station. It does the job it's designed for perfectly. I had been struggling for days trying to remove Delta shower cartridge that had started dripping and had gotten stuck (it was originally installed around 20 years ago). Nothing I tried would free up the cartridge. But this tool removed it in about a minute with no difficulty. As I mentioned, the tool does cost a lot for something that a typical do-it-yourselfer might only use once. But when you contrast that with the cost of having to call in a plumber after you've found you can't remove the cartridge yourself, it's worth it. And if you do plumbing work for a living then this tool might pay for itself after the first few uses.

Freaking amazing. Ive never had a shower cartridge come out easily before. As much as the 200 price tag hurt, this popped my stuck valve out in about a minute, vs the hour I had spent trying before stopping so I wouldn't break a pipe. A plumber would have cost me 500 easily so this was a no brainer, especially since i have 2 more of these valves in my house. Built like a tank and easy to use. Also works well to push the new cartridge in if its not going in easily.

This tool, while undeniably well made, seems absurdly overpriced. It is also superlative at what it is designed for. It took a stubborn, 25 year old Delta cartridge that seemed fused in place by over two decades of hard water deposits and corrosion and effortlessly extracted it in all of thirty seconds. I don’t want to admit publicly how much time I spent trying to extract that damn cartridge without succeeding prior to using this tool. 6 stars out of 5 for performance; 2 out of 5 for price.

Years ago a neighbor told me he had replaced his leaky cartridge in his shower faucet and it broke apart and he couldn't get it out, so he called Delta and they weren't any help. I don't remember how he finally got the broken half of the old cartridge out. But I did a bunch of research and figured out he replacement part number for the cartridge when one of my shower valves started leaking. That day came and I thought about attempting to replace the cartridge the next morning, because I would need to shut the water off at the main valve and if I couldn't the old cartridge out, I wouldn't be able to turn the water back on until a plumber came to work on it. Sure enough, I couldn't get the cartridge out. It broke in half and I watched every You-tube video I could find. The first guy got his pried out with with two screwdrivers. Someone else said she used penetrating WD-40, which is the wrong application. It's mineral deposits that is the problem. So you need CLR. But squirting that in there might not work. WD-40 didn't work for me, nor did any attempt at prying the broken cartridge half out. The last video I watched, a guy drilled a hole in the cartridge half and screwed in a screw and used a pry bar on that screw. That gave me the idea to use a claw hammer with a needle -nose vise grip and use that like a jack hammer. That worked for me. I spent 4 desperate hours trying to get that broken off piece of cartridge loose. It wasn't until afterwards that I ran across a video for this tool. $185 is a lot of money, but I would spend $1000 bucks if that's what it cost. I haven't used this yet, but I'm ready when the other shower valve starts leaking. This tool is cleverly designed. Even if the front half of the cylinder is broken off, this tool can clamp into the part that's sticking out. And you can drill holes into it from the sides if you want to have a better grip. I imagine a lot of plumbers have this tool. The rest just use whatever method they figured out, like I did, to pound and pry on the old cartridge. I was lucky I didn't damage the cartridge housing or the plumbing in the wall behind behind the shower. That would have been a worse nightmare. Even if I only use this tool one time for the next leaky cartridge, it's worth the money I spent for it. If I made a drawing of something like this tool and paid to have a machine shop make it, I think it would probably cost me about $500 to have it fabricated.

I previously struggled with removing a delta cartridge from my shower stall last year and it took 6 hours to try and get it out. It wouldn’t budge and we drilled into it and did horrible things to it in order for it to come out. Eventually, we got it out in pieces. I am a 60 year old female and purchased this item for the upstairs shower because it was leaking and I knew I would probably come into the same problem since I have such very hard and acidic well water. I was able to remove the cartridge myself within 2 minutes! It made the job extremely easy, and I feel like a professional plumber with this tool! Of course, the hardest problem I had was removing the handle because the little Allen nut was corroded. I ended up using a hacksaw to get that off but once I was able to remove the handle, this tool made the rest of the job extremely easy. I would definitely recommend this item.