Leak out of p-trap shower drain

[Jimenez61]

2019 Freedom Elite 22 FE
I'm back again. Finally got parts for shower drain. But now when I install everything. Drops are coming out of the connection of the P-trap where water flows out to gray tank.
When I removed the old one I noticed a gasket right under the drain but not one on tje other end of p-trap to grey tank.

Is it suppose to have a gasketbon that end?. Should I put one to stop the leak?

The left is tje one I took off. The right is the new one I'm putting on. At the location where I bought this they told me that the part that goes under the drain in more sturdy that the one on the left. Not sure if that made a difference in why its leaking. The old one looked cheap and fragile. It cracked.

Any advice appreciated. You all have been great here. Learned alot since I've been in the forum.

[javelin]

So to clarify, until the “real plumbers” chime in, are you just replacing the portion of P-trap that was under the drain.....but keeping the other half of the original P-trap (still glued to the grey tank waste pipe) and just screwing them together? If yes, that “might” be the problem since sometimes P-traps don’t mate well if mixing brands etc. Since the mating surfaces are a compression fitting (the tapered flange fits exactly into the matching channel in the mating half); they must be mated fully; no “slightly off” pipe alignments allowed, or leaks may result. Tightening the threaded ring too much to compensate for a slight misalignment (or just two halves that are not meant to seal together) might crack your fittings. The threaded coupling is just keeping the compression faces together tightly.....unless they are slightly misaligned in some way. So not sure if it is the trying to mate two slightly dis-similar halves; or if they are just not perfectly aligned causing the leak? You have the mated half of the new P-trap......but would have to install it (PIA) and maybe could still wind up with a slight misalignment. Could try pipe dope on the mating tapered flange area to see if that would seal since the water is not under much pressure. Not sure how long that would last or if it would even work. You can probably buy P-traps that come with a gasket (high end units probably); doubt that trying to use a gasket in your existing situation (if it did not come with one) would help; might make the leak worse.

[Jimenez61]

Thanks for quickly reply. Great info here..

Changing the everything you see on pic. The left was the old one. The part to tje drain cracked. They gave me one that was studier and threads completely. It seems like it's higher but once it's screwed in it matches. Right now its put in. But little drops come out through where ot connects.

For the pipe dope. Tape or sealants that comes in tubes and or bottles

Sorry to ask. What's PIA.

[CHS]

Are you talking about the middle of the J section of the trap where it swivels? If so, usually there is no gasket there. Just need to get in aligned properly and DON'T over tighten. Mine broke at the first nut just below the shower drain tailpiece.

When I repaired them both in the kitchen and the shower I installed a (Fernco) rubber coupling to on the vertical section just below the tailpiece to take the stress off the pipes when stepping into the shower and driving down the road.
My Kitchen sink is on a slide so I also (after a cracked fitting in the same place) Used a Fernco coupling on the horizontal section to also keep stress off the section of pipe. You can get them at Lowes, Home Depot or any Plumbing Supply.
Notice also I keep an (Just in case) pan under the drain and check it once in a while.

Also nice that it keeps you from having to perfectly align the pieces together.

Also notice the Access panel I installed in the hallway. The small opening in the bathroom is a joke to get at anything to fix.
Comes in white and painted it brown like the walls.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[javelin]

Originally Posted by Jimenez61

Thanks for quickly reply. Great info here..

Changing the everything you see on pic. The left was the old one. The part to tje drain cracked. They gave me one that was studier and threads completely. It seems like it's higher but once it's screwed in it matches. Right now its put in. But little drops come out through where ot connects.

For the pipe dope. Tape or sealants that comes in tubes and or bottles

Sorry to ask. What's PIA.

So the leak is at the union of the mating halves of the P-trap and it sounds like you are using both halves from the new P-trap which should mate correctly...... as long as the compression face alignment is correct. If the drain pipe side is at even a slight angle when it mates with the drain side J piece you will typically have a problem. CHS used a rubber coupling to help ensure his P-trap mating surfaces came together perfectly as the rubber would flex as required to allow that perfect compression face alignment; whereas ABS pipe alone does not. I was thinking of the thick liquid pipe dope, but it is meant for use on lubricating and sealing pipe threads, not really for “filling” a gap in a tapered compression fitting.....so it might not work (or for long). Trying to use teflon tape would be tricky and might actually make things worse.
PIA = Pain in the..... Butt.

[CHS]

Originally Posted by javelin

So the leak is at the union of the mating halves of the P-trap and it sounds like you are using both halves from the new P-trap which should mate correctly...... as long as the compression face alignment is correct. If the drain pipe side is at even a slight angle when it mates with the drain side J piece you will typically have a problem. CHS used a rubber coupling to help ensure his P-trap mating surfaces came together perfectly as the rubber would flex as required to allow that perfect compression face alignment; whereas ABS pipe alone does not. I was thinking of the thick liquid pipe dope, but it is meant for use on lubricating and sealing pipe threads, not really for “filling” a gap in a tapered compression fitting.....so it might not work (or for long). Trying to use teflon tape would be tricky and might actually make things worse.
PIA = Pain in the..... Butt.

As a temp fix I tried the teflon tape. Does not work well at all.
The big issue is the weight of standing in the shower and the pressure it places on the fittings is too much, especially if the shower pan is not supported correctly, which is this world is a given.

[Jimenez61]

Got it. I put it on today again. And leak is not as bad as yesterday. It shaping out. Not drops coming out. It drains great. Does not leak while drain. Flowing well. Just when the water sits in the trap it starts seeping out. Very little.

Thanks again for you input. Sooner or later I'll get in right.

[Jimenez61]

CHS, I see what you did. Javelin explained it to me why you did that. Like I told Javelin. I installed it to day again. Leak was not like it was yesterday. There were drops yesterday today it was seeping out. Not sure what I did. But still leaks.
Here is how it looks and the next pic is where it's seeping out. Draining great. While draining no water comes out. It's when it Don and I'm assuming the water around that part is escaping through there. Underneath the thread.
Actually coupling right in top part where it's coming up