I read somewhere that the old plastic longboxes from the 90s were prone to cracking because the plastic got brittle over time, especially if they were stored in a basement or garage. I had a similar scare when my wooden crate started splitting at the corners after I packed it with about 200 issues. Ended up having to reinforce all the seams with duct tape.

My friend tried this with a couple of metal washers instead and it shorted out his motherboard. The_dylan might have a better story than that.

And that's the thing with plumbing, you're not just paying for the part but the experience to know exactly what to look for. Most guys I know who do their own work end up spending more on parts they didn't need and still have to call someone anyway. At least you cut your losses before tearing out the whole wall like my neighbor did last summer.

Did you try hitting it with some penetrating oil first? I've dealt with stuff like that before and honestly sometimes the rust is doing all the work. If you try to force it apart without any prep, you'll just end up with a pile of junk on the ground. Grab some WD-40 or PB Blaster and let it soak in for a while. Then take a wire brush and go at the seams gently. If it still feels like it's going to fall apart, you can always get some rust converter to stabilize what's left. Just go slow and patient is the key here.

Mila, you've clearly never seen the state of my bathroom after my husband and his buddies use it for poker night. I'd trade my right arm for a toilet scrubbing robot but instead I'm down here on my knees with a brush like it's 1956. These old magazines make it sound like we'd be lounging around drinking martinis while machines did everything... jokes on them, I'm just tired and my back hurts. At least they got the "relaxing" part wrong too because who has time to relax when the robot never showed up to work?