Pro 77 Sink Disposer leaking around sink drain

[Jannie]

It appears that this disposer was installed without any sealer around the seating on the sink outlet. I have never removed one of these - any advice?

[LazyPup]

The Pro 77 features the standard Insinkerator Quick-Lock mounting system which is basically very easy to remove or install.

In order to install the necessary Plumbers Putty you will not need to totally remove the sink drain basket/disposal mount assembly however you will need to remove the disposal unit.

First begin by disconnecting the electrical power. Most units are simply connected to the power source by a cord which is plugged into an outlet inside the sink cabinet in which case you can just pull the plug, on the other hand some jurisdictions require the disposal to be hard wired to the power source. If this is the case you will need to locate and turn off the electrical circuit breaker controlling this circuit.

Next disconnect the drain line from the disposal unit.

If you examine the drain from the underside of the sink you will see the tailpiece coming through the sink and dropping down about 3" to the disposal unit. On the top of the tailpiece you will see a triangular shaped metal plate that is tight against the underside of the sink. On the points of the triangle you will see three threaded bolts coming up from a second triangular plate and pressing against the top plate.

Immediately below the lower triangular plate you will see a round lock ring that holds the disposal unit in place. The lock ring has four tubular steel projections on the edge of the ring.

You will need to hold the disposal power unit up while you tap one of the tubular projections to turn the lock ring in the counter clockwise direction to release the disposal power unit. Be very careful at this point because the lock ring only needs to turn about 1" and the disposal unit will drop rather suddenly. (Keep in mind that your power unit weighs about 15lbs so be prepared to control it as it drops down). With the power unit disconnected set it aside.

If you slide the lock ring upwards you will see a Wire spring steel lock ring surrounding the end of the tailpiece in a formed groove. If you wanted to completely remove the drain basket from the sink you would pry that wire ring off the end of the tailpiece and the disposal power unit lockring would then slip off, however you will not need to remove that to install the plumbers putty.

Look on the underside of the three bolts from the lower plate to the upper plate and you will see the bolt heads have a screw slot. Using a common flat screw driver you will now loosen those bolts by unscrewing them. You will need to unscrew all three bolts about 3/4".

Once the bolts are loose you can then push upwards on the tail piece and you will note that the upper flange above the sink will lift up above the sink base.

Now take a lump of Plumbers Putty about the size of a golf ball and knead it until it is soft and pliable, then roll it out into a thin rod about 3/8" diameter and about 10" long. While holding the tailpiece upwards you can then insert the roll of plumbers putty under the basket flange until you have a ring of putty completely around the underside of the flange.

You then use your screwdriver to tighten the three mount bolts from below. As they tighten they will pull the sink basket down into place and compress the excess plumbers putty out of the joint.

You can now remove the excess putty with your fingertip and a wet rag, then reverse the removal procedure to re-install your disposal unit.

[Jannie]

Fantastic Advice

Thank you for the detailed instructions on replacing the putty. In the process I discovered that one of the 3 locking bolts was never tightened at all. This no doubt contributed to the leak and also caused a fair amount of rusting.

I have also found that the locking ring separates from the unit when I slide it up. There is a small lip on the disposal unit, but nothing to stop the locking ring from separating. Am I missing a part on this unit?

I have tried to find a parts list for the unit, but have not been successful.

[LazyPup]

Thank You so much for sharing the outcome of your project with us.

You are not missing any parts there. When everything is mounted and under tension there is not sufficient clearance for that locking ring to move out of its groove.

I doubt that you will have much success in finding a parts list for that unit because basically disposals are sealed units that have a very limited number of user servicable parts. Usually when we consider the cost of parts plus the cost of labor to have the parts installed it is much more economical to just replace the unit.

The units do come with an installation pamphlet packed in the box that would show an illustrated breakdown of the mounting hardware, but given that the mounting system is almost universal to all disposals and understanding that you have by now dissassembled and reassembled that mounting system I doubt that the illustration would be necessary now. On the other hand, if you do desire to get an illustrated installation pamphlet here is a tip for an easy way to locate one.

If you happen to have any friends or relatives who live in an apartment complex where they have disposals ask them to ask thier maintenance man to save you one. They probably have dozens of them laying around the shop somewhere.