I had shopped around at the "big box" stores and even at plumbing supply houses, and this Kohler Lavatory Sink Drain Assembly is by far the best I have found, and a real "steal" at about $27. I looked at a carded Delta replacement drain assembly at Lowe's, but it looked more cheaply made than the off-brand one also carried by Lowe's which I purchased, but then returned due to the relatively small diameter of the pop-up stopper. I was trying to match the 1.375" diameter stopper of my original Delta drain assembly, but this off-brand stopper was only a little over an inch in diameter, which raised concerns about effective draining. I finally looked on Amazon and found the Kohler assembly which is solid, heavy gauge metal and has a large 1.625" diameter stopper with metal shaft and an integral o-ring for a leak-proof fit when closed. (This Kohler model still has the standard 2.125" diameter sink flange, so should fit standard sink bowls.) The one thing lacking with this part, however, is clear instructions. Installing one of these is not rocket science, but it helps to be aware of several things: 1) Do not over-tighten the nut on the pipe. I noticed that a significant portion of the large conical rubber washer that seals on the bottom of the sink was still visible as the flange nut was getting pretty tight, but this is not a problem as the sealing is done by the portion of the washer that slides into the bottom of the sink clearance around the drain pipe. Tightening of the nut is described in Step 3 of the instructions, but note that Step 3b (proper orientation of the drain body lift rod hole) needs to be completed before fully tightening the nut in Step 3a. 2) As noted by another reviewer, after completion of the flange-pipe installation, the lower pipe section (which fits into the drain trap compression fitting) needs to be unscrewed, pipe dope or Teflon tape applied to the threads, then re-threaded into the upper pipe section to prevent leakage. Hand-tight is sufficient - no need to use a wrench or pliers. (There is nothing in the instructions that even suggests that this piece is removable or needs to be sealed.) 3) Finally, one reviewer remarked on the slow drain rate of this part. I was surprised after installing the drain assembly and inserting the stopper into the drain hole that the pop-up height was very small - maybe 0.125", or so, which certainly is not conducive to effective draining. However, I discovered that the stopper shaft length is adjustable (again, not mentioned in the instructions) by unscrewing the lower plastic portion (that sits on the lifter rod) to make it longer. The chrome stopper itself also threads on to the plastic piece at the top end, and once the appropriate length is set, the stopper can be gently tightened (gently, since metal onto plastic threads) to lock the adjustment in place. By playing with this adjustment and ensuring that the full range of the lift rod is utilized, I was able to get 0.625" of pop-up opening which, combined with the large diameter of the stopper, results in very effective draining. Overall, this appears to be a top quality replacement part. I strongly recommend that you spend the few additional dollars for the Kohler brand over the cheaper versions out there.
