Shower faucet frustration

I am not a fan of anything to do with plumbing, but...

Jane had mentioned there was "black gunk" coming out of the back of the one faucets in her shower. I'd also noticed that distinctive squeal of metal-on-metal when she turns it on and off. So... I'd been mentally preparing myself to tackle this trouble for a few weeks.

I really hate plumbing. I know just enough to break something and totally mess it up, and I'm always worried I'll do that, and I won't be able to find a plumber to fix it, and I'll flood the house, and our insurance won't cover it, and... You know the feeling, right?

Well, last week I finally decided to look into it. I started by using Google to take a pic of the faucet handles and determine what brand they were. Of course, if you can believe it, Google was wrong! They did get the brand correct, but not the style. I don't even remember now how I discovered it, but the shower off our bedroom has a:

 - Kohler Trend 2 faucet -

I already have a faucet "puller" tool, so I grabbed that along with a screwdriver, and covered the drain with a towel. I got the screws out and gave the faucets a little tug. Nothing. I put the puller on and started the prying process... Nothing. First the one faucet; then the other. Still nothing. I sprayed PB Blaster penetrating catalyst all over both faucets, tried again, and still nothing! So I sprayed them down again and decided to wait a bit...

A couple hours later I started the process over. Then I got out the VINEGAR to try to break up the corrosion. I even soaked the one faucet handle in a baggie of vinegar (actually, I think I did first thing in the morning).

I worked all stinkin' day just trying to get the stinking faucet handles off and neither one of them would budge AT ALL!!!

So, I sprayed them down good with vinegar and decided to let them sit overnight.

The next day I was ready to tackle these handles again. Re-spray, put the puller on... Nothing!

Geezaroo... I went back and forth, alternating handles, spraying, tugging, tightening, waiting...

FINALLY... one of them popped loose. And I mean POPPED. A corroded piece of handle broke off in the process. The other side finally broke loose too. Whew.

Now to tackle the inner cartridges and replace the rubber gaskets (if they even have them). Well, wouldn't you know, the socket I have didn't fit (supposedly it's a 19mm, but I find it hard to believe it's not a standard size, and I'd guess it's larger than that). [btw, the next day I did buy a large-size set of plumber sockets on marketplace for $2!]. I was done.

So, I thought I would just replace the handles and think some more about what to do next. And, wouldn't you know it, no one in town seems to carry that brand of faucet handles. Harumpf.

I ended up just putting my tail between my legs, cleaning up the old handles, and putting them back on. We have been talking about getting the bathrooms re-done anyway. I really dread the thought of that too, but...

Have I mentioned how much I hate trying to do plumbing??