On Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:47:07 -0600, wrote:

On Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:23:09 -0700, "Steve B" wrote:

Now, wasn't that easy? After you've done about six of them, your time will
lessen, unless you hit a major snag, such as problem getting bolts off,
sealing on bolts, sliding of donut, or breaking porcelain. Or water supply.

If the bolts dont come off, use a hacksaw and cut them. There is a

So now I have to bring a hacksaw too! Whine.

rubber gasket under them, so there is riim to get a hacksaw blade in
there. An angle grinder might also work, but the heat will likely make

And maybe an angle grinder!

the rubber stink. Just dont hammer on them.

When you reinstall the bolts, always put some silicone on both sides of

And silicone. Whine.

I have all these things, but I don't know if he does. Maybe I should
just work on my own toilet.

those rubber gaskets inside the tank. This is not noted in the
instructions, this is something I learned after having them leak far too
many times by just using the gaskets. DO NOT overtighten the bolts, or
the tank could crack and/or gasket will creep out from under the bolt
head. Always be sure to remove all the dirt an crud around the bolts
and flush valve threaded portion. A little silicone under the flush
valve gasket cant hurt either.

I've done lots of these over the years, when I was working for a
plumber. These are tricks not normally known.

Good luck.

BTW: Maybe you dont have to replace the entire flush valve. Why not
post a photo of what is in that tank first.

I actually had my cell phone with me, with a camera in it, but it
didn't occur to me to take a picture. I guess he could take one and
send it to me and I could post it.

There were some
brand-specific flappers and flush ball setups that were not common, but
those parts can be gotten from a plumbing supply, but not always from a
hardware store. Maybe you just need one of those parts and can save
lots of work.

Maybe I should get that picture and show it at the plumbing store.
He has a third toilet that I didn't look at, because his wife was
lying down in the bedroom already. But if it is the same as the
broken one, that would be more reason to try to find easy to install
replacement parts. (The third toilet had had the guts replaced with
much more recent stuff. Maybe that implies the plumber then couldn't
find what I'm looking for.)

Thanks for the good advice, and thanks all.