Can this be fixed?

Can this be fixed?

It looks like a design flaw to me. I don’t know enough. Lots of machinists here so I am hoping to learn something.

Something is giving and the faucet will not hold tight to the sink. I don’t know if the pipe is flexing or the female collar is stretching. I do know that it can only be tightened so tight and then it slips a thread. Left on it’s own it will also slip a thread and the faucet gets loose. Getting a replacement. Perhaps this just faulty but it looks doomed to fail to me.

Is there anything I can do with the new one to improve it? If I can find a nut that will fit under the faucet collar would that help? Perhaps if the mounting pressure were taken up by the nut instead of the female part of the faucet? Seems like the stress from pulling out the sprayer is what may be causing it to fail. Not sure a nut would do anything about that? Would thread locker help?

Thanks for your insights.

From what your showing, I would be surprised if the manufacturer didn't include a large washer that slides over the threaded section before adding the threaded locking ring, especially since the bottom of the faucet is hollow where it meets the sink top. When the washer sits between the locking ring and the underside of the sink, it provides stability to the entire faucet column as the locking collar is tightened, thus preventing this type of problem. You could keep this faucet in service by getting the appropriate size washer from a hardware store or plumbing supply house.

Curiously, who is the manufacturer? When was the faucet installed and who did the installation?

The manufacture is VESA Home from China. Bought off Amazon. There is a washer between the locking nut and the under side of the sink. I did the install. I was wondering if the washer should be on the top side of the sink? Or, if it actually needs a nut on the top side to take the pressure off?

So maybe I should go for as large of washer as I can fit under the sink?

Try all those options singly and together. And remember it’s not unlikely that some part (washer, nut) was missing from the package.

I'll have to research the Vesa brand. But in the meantime, I'm inclined to think that the design of the faucet bottom where it meets the back of the sink top, is meant to either be sleek, as in the way you installed it, or Vesa might have included a faceplate that would in fact act as a giant, decorative washer on the sink. If they did, and you still had it, would you even want to install it and compromise the look you intended?

Otherwise, you could "possibly" add a 2nd washer with a larger, outer diameter, (assuming you could even find one), which could add enough rigidity through load-sharing. However, the space available underneath the sink will surely be very limited and likely unable to accommodate a larger washer.

Curiously, is your SS sink only 20 Gauge or even 18 Gauge? A thinner SS sink just doesn't have the rigidity to support a faucet mounted like yours without a decorative faceplate.

It appears that you are using the wide base plate that covers the traditional 3-hole faucet setup. Correct?

"goshdogit" is right, I missed that on my small screen. At this point, it's best to get the model number, lookup what the kit includes, and see if you missed a part during installation, which might be a component that goes under the the faceplate.

My apologies by getting off track as I was envisioning the mounting problem I had with my nearly identical kitchen faucet recently.

Going back to your description, I think a combination of factors is leading to the locking ring slipping, but the most likely scenario is that when trying to tighten everything down, not an easy task underneath the cabinet, you may have cross-threaded the ring, ultimately compromising its ability to hold strong and tight. Do the threads look damaged?

UPDATE: I went to the Vesla website and found what appears to be your faucet. I wanted to look at what parts are included and the installation instructions, but they don't provide any manuals to open or download.

FWIW, I didn’t see any thread damage. I assume the thread damage is in the faucet. The retaining nut tightens as good as I can get it. Then, when screwing down the locking screws, or just given time, it slips and I don’t believe the slip is coming from the retaining nut.

I ended up looking at a Delta faucet that looked just like this one’s parts and installation manual. They have a large thick plate that goes under the sink between the sink and the retaining nut. I put the washer provided in the same place but it is a much smaller washer. Makes me think that if I can find a couple of decent washers that will fit it may be just what is needed.

Unfortunately it is a thin Stainless sink. Used the face plate provided to cover the other holes.

ADDENDUM: The way in which your faucet loosens was similar to the way ours used to. What I did to shore up the overall strength of the faucet-to-sink interface, was to remove the faceplate. However, I could only do this because it wasn't absolutely needed, since we have a single-hole type of sink. Plus I prefer the more streamlined look. More importantly, installing the base of the faucet directly to the sink's surface, keeps the locking ring underneath from loosening because pulling the sprayer doesn't create as much flex as it would with the faceplate. To be honest though, it took a few months to become confident of my choice. It's a couple years now and there hasn't been another issue with loosening. I hope whatever solution you go with resolves the problem!

I’m kind of thinking of making a backing plate out of 3/4” plywood. I need the faceplate but hopefully the added backing and driving back of the locking point will reduce the flex.

hope you can settle this problem earlier