Toilet Tank Bowl Leaks at Bolts Nut Washer - Slow Drip - 20 Minute Fix
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- Опубликовано: 30 янв 2022
- All two-piece toilets have bolts that connect the toilet tank to the toilet bowl. If the tank is disturbed, such as a person leans back and slightly moves the tank (or cleaning or painting around a tank) a slow drip may occur. It can be very slight, sometimes not noticed for weeks.
Originally toilet tanks were secured to the bowl w/only one nut which is normally not a problem, however, over the years the bolt process has been improved by using a nut at the bottom of the tank to secure and make the bolt waterproof to the tank before it is assembled to the bowl.
A common mistake, and that is why I made this video, is that it’s common for a mechanic/handyman to put a metal washer under the head of a bolt, however in this case only a rubber washer is supposed to go against the head of the bolt so that when it’s tightened it will be; the metal head of the screw, a rubber gasket and then the china of the tank. The combination when tightened makes an easy waterproof seal.
With a new tank-bolt kit you’ll have (2 or 3 sets depending on how many bolts you toilet uses. Mansfield, older American Standard and a few others use 3 bolts). Take the brass bolt, slide on the rubber washer, insert it into the tank, (now you are on the outside/bottom of the tank) slide on the metal washer followed by the hex nut and snug up the nut. Now slide the bolt back and forth to center the bolt in the hole and tighten. It needs to be snug but not so tight as to crack the tank. I use only 2 fingers on the wrench and snug until I see the inside rubber washer ‘pucker’ a little bit.
Now the tank is water tight and is easily assembled to the bowl.
Hi! I’m Blair Gilbert, aka MR. HARDWARE. As a third-generation hardware store owner, licensed builder, and finish carpenter, my mission is to help you “do it right the first time!” On this site, I share expert home and yard DIY advice in over 200 videos. I can fix and repair your problems.
Learn more at: mrhardware.com/
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Thank you! This guy is the only one that gets it right. That was a big help!
Just updated and it's been dry for 22 hours now! YEA, it worked as described!
Thank you so much, had the washer inside the tank, installed it like you said and no more leaks.
You mean the metal washer right? The rubber one is also called a washer? Just for clarification but get what you mean lol
Thanks so much!!! We just bought new toilets (American Standard) and I can't believe this type of system doesn't come standard with new toilets. It's ridiculous to expect a tight seal to be made from a nut that tightens the toilet bowl to the tank. When it leaks, I don't know if it's because it's too loose or I cracked the thing from over tightening.
Having the tank alone be water-tight sealed should be the standard, and then just secure the tank to the bowl. Genius.
Great video. Viewed on Jan.19, 2024. Great job of explaining why!! Thank you
AH->MAZING !!!!!!! Thank you SO much for this video and the one about attaching the bowl to the toilet. WOW. My husband struggled for H O U R S.... trying to find out WHY the tank was leaking out the back bolt (we have a 3-hole pattern). NOTHING he did worked. We even bought a second kit to see if the first was faulty. Then, I had had enough and went to youtube. Found YOUR video and WALA !!!! We did what you showed, exactly how you showed - and at 9pm TOILET restored !!! Now, keep this in mind when you formulate your reaction: We are a household of 5 - with only 1 of that 5 being a male, and with 2 of that 5 being toddler girls learning to potty train - and only 1 - ONE - bathroom in our tiny home. A DAY without a toilet was AWFUL. Thank you. SOOO much for doing these videos.
You made my day! I’m glad I was able to help
What was the fix? Remove metal washer from inside tank??
I like when you show it in real time not with the editing, I don't wanna miss a thing
Lot of videos on yt that showing less than accurate information. I have been struggling with leaking bolts. I have followed the advice here, and one hour after that - no leaks. Fingers crossed...but I am much more hopeful. Thanks Mr.Hardware!
Blair, I want to thank you for the inside tank info on the bolt to rubber seal to china. The directions say otherwise and I was having drips of water but now is all good again. Thank you!
Thanks Blair! Spot on to fix the issue with our Koehler toilet. Great video!
EXCELLENT information. I just did this and makes so much more sense the way you explained.
This is the second one for the basement bat. ruclips.net/user/postUgkxOuLt8IL_GxhhaK8DBuKEL-zV0UJVpWZn , works great
I wish Uncle Larry would quit rocking the bowl.
😂😂
I am uncle larry
Big thanks, didn't occur to me it could leak between the metal washer and bolt with the rubber washer in place, but makes sense when you described it.
Most awesome info ever needed. thanks for that and keep up the good work.
Clear. Concise. Thank you!
Thank You, I finally fixed it thanks to your video!
Thank you. Just what I needed!
Great video, thank you so much help me with exactly what I needed!
Thankyou actually use to put them with washer inside ,will be changing my ways 🙏🏻
You saved my day! Thank you.
HIlarious. had an old uncle do it at my house. exact same thing happened. Now i gotta fix it. Thanks for the great vid.
Thank you very much
Thank you
Exactly what I needed! 😊
Genius Man
Thank you!
Spot on!! Thanks!!!
Thank You
Thank you Mr Hardware...
Thank you , we did it 2 girls 💃🏾💃🏾
Thanks
Thank you, will try. I've been using the metal washer inside the tank with the rubber washer and can't get the drip stopped. Will try your method today.
Did that fix it? Other videos put metal washer inside too but don't see how that causes leak as it's rubber to china on inside.
@@rogerh2694 Absolutely it did fix it!
Thanks for repeating this important information.
Thank you. I discovered the leak and my boyfriend was yelling and screaming AT ME like it was my fault. I watched your video and told him what was the problem and what I had to buy to fix it, but he bought it and I am less than a month post op but I will still be stuck fixing it and he was still yelling and barking out orders. I told him for now I turned the water off so we could use buckets to flush til the kit arrives but he wanted me to stick a bowl under there and turn the water back on. Grrrr! Anyway, you, sir, have provided the greatest PSA ever!
You need a new boyfriend
Yeah. That boyfriend sounds like a tool.
@@ck9292 I confronted his friend because he's a traveler and a huge giant. I told him this problem with the toilet never existed until he started coming around and that when he left, I fixed it, repeatedly somehow, just by adjusting the tank a tad, then the problem recurred each and every time he returned to our home. After that, the problem has been non-existent. You simply must stand up to gaslighting bullies. I am only 4'10" tall, but I know you cannot show fear. I also reminded my boyfriend I outweigh him by 100 lbs, and asked if he thought it wise to keep screaming at me all the time since I don't even know when I could snap. He went in his room and went to sleep and the yelling was not as bad. I still keep that container down there, beneath the toilet, but thankfully, the man, whom I consider to be a dangerous narcissistic pos, who stalks his blind girlfriend, whom we have never met, and makes us only converse about his problems with her, stopped coming by. I know, run-on sentennce. I tricked him into admitting he is an aggressive person with a short fuse. Good riddance to bad rubbish. I don't need the drama. We did not have to replace anything yet, but bought the kit. I think in our case this guy just did something, but I'm not sure what. Maybe he just loosened the bolt. My boyfriend realized I was right and this guy just likes creating chaos for chaos sake. My boyfriend might let him come back when it is the season to do his travels to our area, but I will try and help him remember the way this lumbering giant went around knocking things off dressers and stuff and not mentioning it. I could always hear stuff crashing to the ground in the room we let him use. I have been here 10 years and had never met him until I looked up this problem. Only evidence of him crashing into things was a tempura pan that had the lid removed and pieces displaced. I fixed it. Also, that he admitted doing mushrooms inside our house. Can you imagine that sh**? He wanted us to create space for him to do his workouts? Fk that! We saved him hundreds giving him free rent which is fool-hearty when you know the law, that if you have mercy inviting anyone in, they can legally refuse to leave. I mentioned it to my boyfriend in front of that guy. Boy, did that guy's eyes light up, but he owns a home in another state, so I'm certain we could have evicted him. No way. I always have to prove myself and the more I do, the more that is expected of me. I'm only looking out for our sanctuary. I don't even bother him. I stay to myself. It's what he trained me to do. I'm not stupid.
brilliant. thanks. i made the mistake of the metal washer on top of rubber washer inside the tank.
Cus other videos put metal washer inside lol and of course we follow like sheeps. Did you pur a rubber washer on outside tank too? Guessing that's to protect the china from the nut.
Why no rubber washer at bottom of tank? Other vids show rubber washer metal washer and then nut. I guess i ll find out if it leaks again.
The number one seal is inside the tank where the metal headed the screw is sealed against the china. Any other washers will not make that seal any better.
20 minutes my ass when the bolts are rusted together lol saw them off hahah that was a wrestling match for two days 😂
Thanks for the video. I just took my toilet apart and the washer that was being used actually went through the tank and wasn’t a flat washer. I mean it was flat but part of fit around the bolt as it went through the tank. It was hard to tell in your video but I think it was like the one you took out. I can’t seem to find these exact washers anywhere. Can I just use a use a regular flat washer?
The toilet tank bolt washers are softer, a bit more pliable. They should be sold at any hardware or big box store….. you may have to buy a kit w/bolts, nuts and washers.
Hi. If I understand correctly, the tank's stability to the bowl (meaning less rocking) comes mainly from the bolt heads inside the tank and the nuts underneath the bowl. So what exactly is the middle nut and washer between the tank and bowl contributing? Is it to add more stability? Or is it to add more leak-proofing? Or a little of both? And why is this nut and washer combo absent in this location in many toilet setups? Thanks.
Some toilets are 2 bolt and some are 3 bolt (Mansfield and old American Standard) (which have more stable tanks, not that it is a big issue) You can’t skip a bolt….
The Flush valve in the center is bolted to the tank and sealed to it w a nut and internal gasket, first, away from the bowl. Then a large foam gasket seals the flush valve (now attached to the tank) and the tank to the bowl w 2 or 3 bolts , depending on your particular toilet.
@@MrHardware1 Thank you! I've seen some video tutorials on YT add a rubber washer above the metal washer where the 2nd nut is located in a 3-bolt setup. I assume that is not correct since I see you didn't add one in your video. Another question, my toilet bowl has 3 small rubber 'seats' along the rim where the tank sits on. They are removable, and frankly probably need replacing since they're brittle now. Do I need new ones, or can I do without? Thanks again! Subbed btw. Edit: I guess the small rubber 'seats' are actually called channel pads. Some have called them shims or spacers.
@@mattlewis4972 In tank to bowl kits they don’t give you enough rubber washers to put one on the bottom of the tank. The actual seal in the only one that is going to work properly is the one inside the tank, bolt, rubber, China. The other rubber washer that comes in a bolt kit is used underneath the bowl for the wing that tightens the tank assembly to the bowl.
The Spacers take the wiggle out of the tank to bowl. Not a bad idea although most toilets don’t have them. I have used vinyl tubing, probably quarter inch OD, and cut little pieces and place them on top of the bowl to assist the tank from wiggling. If they are too thick they will prevent the foam center flush valve gasket from seating properly so be careful as you do this.
Thanks! Same problem. Package did not give me the "extra" washers and nuts, so need to purchase. Do not know why they want you to use one bolt to do two things; hold water in tank and hold tank to toilet base.
That’s how all tanks were attached to toilets back in the old days 1920s to 1950s. Can’t see why I just know that I like this method better.
Can I use a rubber washer/metal washer combo on the bottom of the tank? Should I? Or should it be just a nut and a metal washer? If so why? Thanks for your time.
The seal is made in the tank, rubber underneath is not necessarily and creates a little more ‘play’ in the bolt that is not a good thing.
Thank you. @@MrHardware1
Never put metal to porcelain
@@HarveyWallbanger-ho2cq only when rubber is on the other side! It’s been done like this since the 1940’s.
Which is better sealer, rubber or polypropelene?
I believe rubber as I know they usually last over 30 years in a tank, but I’m no expert on poly….
Tank bolt near fill valve still has a small leak. My gaskets don't pucker. Should I get different gaskets? TIA
If the gasket on the fill valve in the tank is good and hopefully it’s not coming from there possibly the rubbers do dry out that seal inside the tank so if you’re able, you could replace them with no harm
Hello, have a toilet tank with 4 bolts, what kind of flush valve is used.
That is an old toilet (more than one manufacture) and typically uses a standard 2” flush valve.
Thank you
I used to use water putty around the bolts. This is a better way.
Still don't understand how metal washer in tank causes a leak if rubber washer is the final sealant inside tank? Does the metal one cause the rubber washer to not seal properly??
The water flows between the metal washer and the metal head of the screw until it reaches the threads to the screw and then drains down to the screw out the bottom.
Mine is still leaking
THATS IT!!! I wiggled it. . . I guess. . . Accidentally!😥
Has any super-genius invented a toilet that attaches the tank to the toilet without bolts that are UNDER WATER?
If they are solid brass it should not be a problem.
@@MrHardware1 They still need to be replaced, eventually. Replacement, and, dealing with the challenges of getting a watertight seal would be eliminated if they weren't under water. I just replaced both, (brass), because the right one started dripping... and now the left one is dripping.
@@NedSpindle if the bolts aren’t solid brass or if someone puts a metal washer in the tank are the only issues preventing this job from lasting 30 years.
get a motion stabilized camera
Whydehell you got the toilet on the kitchen table. Caca
Maybe I don’t have a work bench
@@MrHardware1 I'm joking. Gotta do this tonight after work, girl sent leak pics. Thanks for the vid.