OT--Help....plumbing mystery

Went over to my daughter's yesterday to work on her toilet. Wound up replacing both the ball cock and the flush valve. Hooked it back up and turned on the water supply, and all was fine.

When I flushed, however, a sloosh of water came around the base of the tank where it joins the pedastal. It flows for a second or two or three, then stops. The tank refills and there's no leak until the next time I flush. I'm no plumber, but I'm fairly handy and this doesn't make sense to me. Seems if I have a bad fit where the tank and the pedestal mate it would leak constantly. What am I missing?

The V section rubber gasket ring that goes under the flush valve (around the big retaining nut) and between the tank and the base. That is what is missing!!! Jim

(quoted from post at 19:28:53 09/06/12) The V section rubber gasket ring that goes under the flush valve (around the big retaining nut) and between the tank and the base. That is what is missing!!! Jim

Click to expand...

Janicholson is probably right on the money with his answer, there are several other possibilities.

When the flapper on the flush valve is seated, the water in the tank is isolated from the bowl. When you lift the flapper on the flush valve the water in the tank runs into the bowl via that connection where the tank fits to the bowl.

Normally the fitting that forms the seat for the flush valve is held on to the tank by a big nut and the fitting has a gasket between the tank and the bowl. The tank is usually held to the bowl with 2 or 3 brass bolts with sealing washers again the tank.

Are you talking about the gasket or seal that snugs around the foot of the valve; it's about a quarter-inch thick in the center and tapers down to an eighth or sixteenth at its edges? If so, it's in place.

This valve assembly came with a seal or gasket (had never seen one just like it) that was like a rubber cup with a hole in the bottom for the threaded foot of the valve. This cup sits in the big hole in the bottom of the tank.

I'm going back over this afternoon or in the morning to take the whole thing apart again to check my work. I just wanted some ideas of what to look for when I do.

Thanks.

When you look in the bottom of the toilet you will see 2 screws, nuts are under the bottom section. You will have to remove the bolts to access the nut and gasket that Jim is refering to but if you are going that far you might as well replace the gasket on the floor also. Only 1 more step/remove two nuts at floor and whole toliet can be picked up. Get a pair rubber gloves for this gasket can be pretty nasty. Last time my toliet backed up found a Barbie doll head in it. LOL.

check to see that the seal between the tank and base is intact. It is usually a foam rubber type gasket that fits around the fitting in the bottom of the tank. If the seal is good and everything is alligned properly it should not leak.
Tim in OR

You need to pull the commode and remove what's left of the old wax seal and install a new one. The bolts may need replacing. I use a pair of bolt cutter's to cut them out. Hal

It's the gasket between the tank and the bowl. There is a threaded 2" fitting that goes thru a gasket and then thru the hole in the bottom of the tank. Usually nylon these days.Has a nut on the bottom outside of the tank. that gasket is not the one that's leaking. The larger donut gasket that slips over the threaded part of this fitting is the one that's leaking. You have to separate the tank from the bowl to replace it.

The gasket marked is the one that is leaking looks like a doughnut.goes over the large nut on the tank
that holds the flapper assembly in place there are different thicknesses of them, get the thickest one you can find. BE CAREFUL WHEN TIGHTENING TANK BOLTS
do it evenly or you'll break the tank

It's the gasket between the top part of the toilet and the bottom part, the one identified in the picture. It only leaks for a while when you flush because it is only exposed to water for a few seconds during the flush cycle. Before the flush all the water in the tank is held above the connection by the flapper (I think you called it a foot valve) the water level in the bowl is lower than this connection. You can try to tighten the bolts holding the tank to the bowl but it probably won't fix your leak and you risk breaking the tank or bowl. The gasket and the new brass bolts to re-attach the tank to the bowl will probably cost you less than $20. To recap tightening the bolts probably won't fix the leak, you may break the toilet (bad) and when it doesn't fix the leak AND if you were lucky and didn't break the toilet you'll still have to replace the gasket, if you weren't so lucky you get to replace the gasket AND the rest of the toilet. I haven't had much luck getting the old bolts to come off so I always assume I'll replace the bolts while I'm at it, you may be luckier or more patient than me, your choice. I also like to lube the rubber gasket with plumber's grease or liquid hand soap so it'll slide against the porcelain as you tighten the bolts.

Thanks for the helpful replies, fellas.

I know I'm not a good explainer, but to clarify, I did remove the tank from the pedastal. You have to when you replace the flush valve assembly. Every part in the tank now is new, including the brass bolts and their washers.

I'm beginning to suspect that maybe I didn't sufficiently tighten that 2" nylon nut that Dave Sherburn referred to. I'll know more tomorrow when I take it all apart.

I went through something similar a couple of years ago; I had it apart about 3 times before I figured it out and got it fixed. The rear part of the bowl.....the part that the tank sits on....was hollow, including the part on the sides where the 2 bolts go that hold the tank to the bowl. Asked on-line and everyone insisted that that type bowl didn't exist. I know they made at least one, cause I've got it. There was water at that level only while it was being flushed. I've forgotten what the seal/gaskets look like that go on the 2 bolts, to seal them and stop the water from leaking.

Jerry,
I silicone everything that has a rubber gasket when I put together a toilet, faucet, sink drains. Anything to do with plumbing, I silicone. I've found that plumber's putty 15 or 20 years down the road will dry out and leak.

I also use plumber's grease on anything that needs to come apart in the future, like the bolts holding the toilet down, the tank bolts, or nuts on faucets. Sure makes it easier when I have to work on them. Took the bolts off a kitchen faucet that I installed in 1985, with little effort. I was glad I used plumber's grease.

George