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Here's a photo of my setup:

enter image description here

The hose and nozzle hanging down in the picture make up the shower head assembly (it is a hand shower that can hang up on the wall or be removed for directed use). You'll note that the shower is running, but a good portion of the water flow is still leaking through the faucet (with a corresponding loss in pressure at the shower outlet) even though I have the diverter set as forcefully as possible to direct water to the shower head.

I'm assuming that there is some component inside the faucet that needs to be replaced, but I'm not sure which and/or how to go about it. Any suggestions?

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You need to replace the diverter, which in your case is also part of the spout. This should be a relatively easy and cheap replacement. Usually the spout is held on with a set screw located in the bottom - you loosen the screen and the spout will twist/pull off. Replace it with a new spout and diverter, tighten the screw and enjoy!

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    Alternatively the spout may unscrew. If you cannot find a set screw (which will be where Steven said), try twisting it counter clockwise - GENTLY.
    – The Evil Greebo
    Jan 4, 2013 at 18:37
  • Do I need to turn off the water to the house to do this, or is it sufficient to have the water to the tub off?
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Sep 18, 2013 at 19:58
  • Personally I would turn the water off but it's not completely necessary in this case.
    – Steven
    Sep 19, 2013 at 0:37
  • I've had one tub where this was as easy as it should be (pipe threaded type spout in both cases) just unscrew the old, apply pipe dope and screw on the new. The other was some sort of 1960's creative plumbing - a section of soft copper tube with a male pipe thread adapter on the end - rather than unscrewing, of course the soft copper tubing just twisted and went flat. Fortunately that one was being completely torn out and replaced; if all I was doing had been replacing the spout, it would have suddenly turned into a much larger job at that point. There's no need to turn off the house water.
    – Ecnerwal
    Aug 9, 2014 at 13:58
  • Also, rebuild kits may be available that have the knob, plastic valve and o-ring. Pop the old knob out, remove valve and pop new in place.
    – Fiasco Labs
    Aug 10, 2014 at 4:37

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