Toilet Repair: Word to the Wise (tank, ceramic, insulation, build)

[clutchrider]

I just finished completing a guts replacement on my toilet after about two weeks of frustration and learned a few things, figured I'd pass them along. The toilet has always had a sticky handle which meant it would stay down and run a lot, I tried to replace with some universal part to no avail. Then came the constant drip from the tank to the bowl meaning it would constantly have to refill a little bit every few minutes. And trying to turn the valve off revealed a bad valve which would not shut the water off.

• When you replace the internals, take a moment and replace the valve and line to the toilet. I upgraded to a 1/4 turn valve since the old turn one was not even able to stop water flow when shutoff.
• The "universal" parts at the box stores most likely may work but you may end up rigging it a bit and not getting as good a result.
• Take a moment and look under your lid, then google the parts. I went to Kohler for the part #'s and ordered from Amazon for about half the cost.

Small details that can save a headache and more aggravation in the long run. The toilet now runs better than when we moved in, and I did replace literally everything inside. New line, new valve, new filler, new overfill with flapper, and new handle assembly. The only thing I am frustrated with is that I spent about $20 at HD trying to buy universal parts to fix the issue when from the beginning I should have gotten OEM parts. Oh well, small inexpensive lesson learned but it paid off in the long run and saved money from having to buy a new toilet for a while.

It also pays to buy a good brand that you can find parts for even if the model is no longer made like ours.

[Londonteacher]

Thank you!

[Electrician4you]

Did you replace the tank hold down bolt rubber grommets and the tank foam ring too? I find that the bolt rubber grommets literally disintegrate over time and leak.

[clutchrider]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

Did you replace the tank hold down bolt rubber grommets and the tank foam ring too? I find that the bolt rubber grommets literally disintegrate over time and leak.

Funny thing is this is a one piece toilet/tank from Kohler. I looked it up and apparently at the time it was about $700 something I'd never spend on a toilet, especially one I'm not very fond of like this one. But I'm not in the market to replace it just yet either, other projects are higher on the list.

So no tank grommets to replace or I would have done those to. I did replace the foam ring, it actually came as part of the overfill assembly with the flapper and chain all together. Like I said I scanned Kohler's site for the parts; where again buying a quality part can payoff as you can always find blow up images and parts lists. Found them on Amazon for cheaper and saved literally half what it would have costed from Kohler. The shipments came a day apart and from different carriers (USPS, UPS) but I was fine with that.

Still a good point though to replace anything that is not ceramic on your toilet (accept for the seat) when doing such work. It may end up costing you say $20-50 depending on parts but I will guarantee if you fix one part you will be replacing the others in no time.

[clutchrider]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

Did you replace the tank hold down bolt rubber grommets and the tank foam ring too? I find that the bolt rubber grommets literally disintegrate over time and leak.

Funny thing is this is a one piece toilet/tank from Kohler. I looked it up and apparently at the time it was about $700 something I'd never spend on a toilet, especially one I'm not very fond of like this one. But I'm not in the market to replace it just yet either, other projects are higher on the list.

So no tank grommets to replace or I would have done those to. I did replace the foam ring, it actually came as part of the overfill assembly with the flapper and chain all together. Like I said I scanned Kohler's site for the parts; where again buying a quality part can payoff as you can always find blow up images and parts lists. Found them on Amazon for cheaper and saved literally half what it would have costed from Kohler. The shipments came a day apart and from different carriers (USPS, UPS) but I was fine with that.

Still a good point though to replace anything that is not ceramic on your toilet (accept for the seat) when doing such work. It may end up costing you say $20-50 depending on parts but I will guarantee if you fix one part you will be replacing the others in no time.

Now, onto the wine room! I've got my foam insulation mock-up completed, time to build!