Review on 🚗 Premium 25mm Cartridge Sub Assembly for Pfister Avalon/Treviso 26/529 Series: Ensuring Optimal Performance by Marvin Perry

Firstly this cartridge for my Pfister bathroom faucet (LF-042-LR) is identical to 974-074 as shown in the parts diagram. Even if you go to the Pfister website and buy a part, Revain will direct you to that item. After installation, leakage and uneven movement of the handle were eliminated. Hooray! But in my case, just getting to the cartridge was a long process. Seems easy enough from the online instructions, but my bottled water was used to "glue" each piece together. The first step was to remove the Allen screw to free the faucet handle. The 3/32 hex wrench was correct, but with the rear-facing screw, it was difficult to hit the target with the wrench. I twisted it a few turns but the handle didn't come off. I turned the screw a few more times and heard it fall into the faucet handle. Still, the handle doesn't come off. Now I'm in a dilemma because when the screw is loose in the grip it restricts movement which means I'm pretty busy now. I tried several plastic tools to lift the handle, but after cutting one in half I realized it wasn't going to work. So I scoured the internet to find a comment about squirting white vinegar into the screw hole, waiting 15 minutes and then tapping. a grip with a rubber mallet might work. I did all this but the handle still didn't move. Finally, desperately, I grabbed another plastic pry bar, and this time I reluctantly disengaged the handle from the cartridge barrel. So vinegar and tapping helped. My brief joy quickly led to the next hurdle. After the handle and trimmer are removed, the cartridge is held in place by a brass lock nut. Because it's brass, it's soft and easily damaged. There are many warnings on the internet not to be too rude. I took my trusty 10" wrench and slowly pushed it down to loosen the nut. No dice, he also refused to move. The nut only sticks out about 1/8 inch and this limits how tight you can grip it. I tried to push harder but I saw that the edges of the nut were starting to warp. Now I'm starting to think about calling a specialist. As a last try, I doused the nut and exposed parts in white vinegar and after 15 minutes tapped the nut with a wrench. Then I turned the nut very slowly with a wrench and it moved a little. More tapping and more vinegar, and I was finally able to pull the nut out with my hand. All threads had traces of mineral deposits on them, so I was lucky they came out. From that moment everything else was easy. I removed the old cartridge, used vinegar and a toothbrush to clean the cavity and threads, then installed the new cartridge and brass locknut using silicone plumber's grease on all threads. I had a little trouble putting the grip back on as the inside was covered in mineral deposits. I was able to clean it and add some lube and it was smooth again. I tightened the Allen screw, turned the water back on and what should have taken 15 minutes was finally done after about 2 hours. It was a stark reminder of how much I hate anything to do with plumbing. Even the simplest task can become an adventure. YMMV of course!