Garbage Disposal

[racefan]

I have a leak at my garbage disposal. It looks as the water is coming where the flange meets the sink. I disconnected the pvd pipe (have two sink unit) and it seems somewhat strange that once I disconnected the pvc, the garbage disposal "fell" about 1/4 inch. It has alot of play. Is this normal? The disposal works fine. I'm simply wondering if the gasket needs to be replaced. I'm having somewhat of a difficult time removing the disposal. I don't see any bolts to unsrew. Any ideas or suggestions?

[ABP]

OK easy
1) Turn off breaker feeding power to unit
2) Cut a block of wood to fit under the unit so as to support it when you dis connect it
3) Using a screw driver insert it into the ring that holds the unit to the basket and turn it so it releases the unit
4) Under the basket you will see 3 screws, loosen these to near falling out
5) Now you will notice a "Snap" ring, remove this with patience and 2 screw drivers
6) Now pull the strainer basket out from inside the sink
7) Gently remove any gasket or plumbers putty from under and on top of the sink where the basket seats and around the basket itself.
8) Go to any hardware store (Lowe's) and purchase a new gasket kit (Should have a gasket and friction washer, the friction washer is made of cardboard and may or may not come with the kit) and a small container of plumbers putty
9) Make a string of the putty by rolling it in the palms of your hands untill it is about 1/4" thick and about 6" long.
10) Place the "String" of putty on the underside of the basket pressing it in lightly to hold it in place
11) Insert the basket back from inside the sink
12) get under sink, install the rubber washer over the flange first, then the friction washer (If supplied as some do not use one, do not worry if yours does not have this)
13) Next replace the triangle piece with the 3 screws on with the screw slots pointing down
14) Re install the "Snap" ring
15) Firmly and evenly tighten down on all 3 screws untill they are tight
16) Slide the disposal up and re lock
17) remove any putty that may have oozed out from under the basket
18) Fill sink with HOT water, then release and check for leaks
19) No leaks? DONE, turn power back on

[Phelps]

I have a leak at my garbage disposal. It looks as the water is coming where the flange meets the sink. I disconnected the pvd pipe (have two sink unit) and it seems somewhat strange that once I disconnected the pvc, the garbage disposal "fell" about 1/4 inch. It has alot of play. Is this normal? The disposal works fine. I'm simply wondering if the gasket needs to be replaced. I'm having somewhat of a difficult time removing the disposal. I don't see any bolts to unsrew. Any ideas or suggestions?

Either you had too thick of an amount of plumbers putty under the chrome flange in the bottom of your sink, which deteriorated and literally disappeared, causing that kind of slop...or...the bolts that tighten the disposer chrome flange and support assembly has loosened...or, your disposer came unlatched, below the sink. When it is tightened below at installation, you are supposed to turn the ring all the way so that at the very end the little tabs drop down in this groove at the end... so that vibrations from the disposer running won't let the disposer lock ring unscrew.

Find out which of the 3 things: If, from below, if you try pushing up on the bottom of the disposer you see the chrome flange in the bottom of the sink lift off the bottom of the sink, then you know the putty failed or the bolts securing the assembly have come loose. But if you CAN'T make this happen, but instead notice that the disposer sure can be wiggled from side to side and can lift up in the air *without* raising the chrome flange off the bottom of the sink...then the diposer has literally come loose and you need to just tighten it. Do not hammer on those 3 ears! If you have plumbers putty under the chrome flange, you will wreck it for sure by hammering, and then you will literally have to take everything apart and start over doing what ABP mapped out. I like to use the blue giant Channelocks pliers to literally squeeze one of those ears I mentioned over to the lock position by getting one jaw on the ear and the other jaw on some thingamajig over there to the right so that the ear moves from left to right into the lock position where it slightly drops down, like I mentioned earlier, so that it can't unscrew under vibration. (I just installed 2 disposers a few weeks ago)

When installing disposers (I have put in quite a few) I don't like to use plumbers putty under the chrome flange by my own choice. I use the thinnest rubber ring gasket I can get my hands on, or one thin enough that doesn't cause the chrome flange to be higher than the bottom of the sink. In 20 years of changing out numerous sink baskets and disposers, I have never had to ever go back to one of my jobs to redo one of my jobs due to a leak - ever.

You mentioned in your post about not seeing bolts to hold anything down. First do the tests I suggest and get back with us here so we can determine what might be the cause of this 1/4 inch slop.