at my wits end

If you're using those cleaning tablets that "dissolve" in the tank, don't. Sometimes, grains of that stuff prevent the flapper from closing 100%, causing a slow leak.

-Oldy

Many toilets have brass flapper valve seats which can acquire deposits over time or even corrode from the blue acid tablets that housewives think are a substitute for good cleaning. If this is the case, shut off the water, drain the tank and remove as much mechanism as needed to dress the valve seat with fine waterproof sandpaper. This should restore the sealing surface and once reassembled the leakge should stop. Not all replacement flappers are equal quality. A soft pliable (and probably pricier) type is what you need. HTH

Joe

Make sure the shut off mech. is shutting off before the water gets to the overflow tube. Rich

I had a 1988 vintage john that had plastic innards. The hinge that the float and rod attached to developed a stress crack (plastic). This hinge also triggered the water feed. The crack allowed enough flex to cause the water feed to do some very funky things.

Like they said.. cheap to replace it all with generic blister pack innards.

Steve

Check to see if it's syphoning water out of the tank through the "refill tube". (That's the little plastic tube about 3/16" diameter which sticks down into the overeflow tube). The clip which holds it into the overflow tube should be adjusted so the end of the refill tube is just barely down into the overflow tube. If it's stuck down too much it will be lower than the shutoff water level in the tank and can drain the tank down.

If that's OK, then you probably do have a flap valve leak, and it might be caused by a corroded or rough seat (the surface surrounding the hole the flap valve covers.) There are replacement seats available to epoxy on top of a bad seat.

Good Luck,

Jeff

$25.00 will repair two toilets

I saw the whole innards for sale at Home Depot for only $18...sounds like it would be worth it for you to just change it all out.

ER

The best thing to do is to take the tank cover off and watch the innards working. See if the water level goes down, and then watch the float drop below its turn on level. If this occurs, then the flapper is leaking. Try reseating the flapper and see if you can find a suitable position for it. They are usually adjustable on the overflow tube. Seat it so that it doesn't leak anymore.

Jeff, thanks a million for the tip as it solved stopping the toilet from running. I checked the little tube and it was all the way shoved down . By pulling it up to the top the problem was corrected. Purple