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Frank[_13_]

On 7/17/2011 9:35 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Sun, 17 Jul 2011 20:08:33 -0400,
wrote:

On 7/17/2011 5:03 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:01:53 -0400, Home wrote:

Tony Sivori wrote:

Symptom:
Toilet tank leaks into bowl, causing very frequent (every 15
minutes or so) top ups of the tank.

Obvious likely cause is the flapper. Replaced. Problem
persists, unchanged.

If you touched the rubber surface of the flapper and something like
black ink comes off onto your fingers, then I'd say it's time to replace
the flapper. Otherwise, the flapper is not likely the cause of the
problem.

As has been mentioned, the problem is either

a) the seal between the tank and toilet bowl, or

b) the seal around the bolts holding the tank to the bowl

If the tank was bumped or roughed up, that would account for a loss of
seal at either (a) or (b). Possibly the tank was knocked around so bad
that a crack formed around one of the bolts.

I always fill up the holes where bolts go through the tank with silicone
when doing a toilet repair job. You should have bolts with very wide,
flat heads, along with a tight-fitting rubber washer to help it seal. I
put silicone around those parts as well.

Tightening the bolts too tightly can distort the gasket between the tank
and bowl and cause it to leak.

You'll have to take the tank off, and by the looks of it you'll also
have to shut off your main water valve and replace the shutoff valve
near the toiled because it doesn't work properly.

Color me skeptical, but how does leaking tank bolts cause "water in
bowl ripples"?

Any tank bolts I've seen, that leak, drips on the floor - possibly
damaging the vinyl flooring, baseboard or the vanity.

A weak / dirty / slimy flapper or damaged flapper seat will cause the
ripples in the bowl.

Last year, window installer bumped toilet causing it to leak on floor
and in bowl. He had broken bolt and I happened to have 2 new ones which
he installed but toilet continued to leak in bowl. I figured seal
between tank was disturbed when bolt was broken. This was my last old
toilet in 35 year old house and I wanted to replace it with a low flow
toilet as I had others, since they are kinder to septic. Rubber and
plastic parts can oxidize with time and degrade.

Since it started leaking after getting whacked, the tank might be cracked,
too. It's not at all uncommon.

Yes. I don' think he hit it hard but bolt was severely corroded. I had
seen it on other toilets.

I had started replacing old toilets about 12 years ago when I cracked
one trying to reseat it after it had been removed for a plumbing repair
in the wall behind it. Bolts had corroded and broken so I rebuilt the
seal and put in new bolts but I overtightened bolts in floor and toilet
cracked. That's when I had plumber put in new toilet, cost about $200
then. He's over $300 now, which includes total job and cost of new
toilet. Well worth the peace of mind in trying to do it yourself at my age.