Toilet Repair Tip

[Paintedcow]

Inside my toilet tank, the overflow pipe, which is a very thin plastic tube, broke off at the base. The toilet was "running", I replaced the flapper and it continued to run. Whole working in that tank, I noticed that this overflow pipe was crooked and when I touched it, it moved.

Immediately, I checked it, and found a crack at the base of it. A little hand pressure and it cracked right off. That crack is where the water was leaking, NOT at the flapper.

While replacing the whole flapper drain assembly is not a major repair, it does mean the tank has to be removed from the toilet base, and most of the time the bolts are corroded and can not just be unscrewed. Too much pressure applied to them, and the tank will break. So, that means it's usually a matter to saw off those bolts with a sawsall metal cutting blade, or by hand with a hacksaw blade. (Either way, it's a pain in the ass job).

I measured the hole where that plastic pipe goes, and went out to my garage to see if I had some sort of pipe to glue in there. I found that a piece of galvanized steel pipe was just slightly larger. I grabbed a piece and was able to slowly turn it and cut threads with the threaded end of that pipe, right into the hole. Once I had threaded it into the plastic about 5/16", I unscrewed it, coated the threads with silicone caulk, and screwed it back in. I left it overnight (without water) so the silicone could dry.

It works perfectly. The steel pipe is exactly the same height as the original plastic piece and it took me less than a half hour to fix. Since I had the pipe, it cost nothing.

So, if you even run into this same situation, you know what to do now...

This steel pipe will probably outlast the toilet. That thin plastic pipe which was there, had a wall thickness about as thick as a business card. NOT MUCH OF A PIPE!

[Andy]

I use a chisel to get those &*$ bolts out.

It should be a law that those bolts be stainless steel. :-)

Andy

[Paintedcow]

That's a good way to break the tank.....

I fully agree....

I once tried to drill the heads off the bolts, but the drill did not fit in the tank because of all the plumbing stuff inside. I was going to go buy a drill bit extension, about a foot long, but I decided to just get out the sawsall, and saw them between the tank and base. That works as long as the toilet is not too close to a wall or cabinet. Taking off the toilet seat makes it easier to get the sawsall in there, but sometimes those seat bolts need to be sawed off too. (Although most are plastic now-a-days).

[>>>Ashton Crusher]

The bolts and nuts I've seen for toilets are brass.

[bob_villain]

Right, seats and the floor mounting bolts are often plated brass that rust. The tank is always brass (in my experience) and comes off easily.

[Paintedcow]

Yes, the floor bolts are often a coated steel and I've actually seen them rust right in half.

Most of the older toilets had brass bolts, but the part inside the tank is a low domed head, with a shallow slot. After water sits in the tank for years, especially if the water is acidic, those heads are corroded, and there is no way in hell that a screwdriver will hold in that slot. So even if the nut turns a little, there is no way to grip the bolt to unscrew the nut. But at least the brass saws easily.

I have seen some replacement bolts that are a plated steel, and after some years they can rust off. Those are the worst and in my opinion, should not even be sold.

Ideally, those brass bolts should have a hex head that sticks up some. That way, even of they corrode so a socket wrench wont fit on them, as least you can grab them with a vice grips.