toilet leaks tank to bowl?

Question

I replaced the guts in my toilet only to have a leak between the tank and bowl. I went a purchased a new rubber seal that looked more like the one I took off but it still leaks. I tried loosing the bolts and wiggling the toilet but no help.It is dripping from the bolts.Thanks for you help any help is appreciated. I never had this problem before.Could I have tighten the bolts to much causing the rubber gaskits on bolt inside tank to expand or is seal from tank to bowl the problem.

Answer 1

So it sounds as if the leak is not due to the rubber seal connecting the tank to the bowl but rather at the holes in the tank that the bolts go through? If so, I had this same problem a few years ago. The rubber washers that came with my tank had deteriorated to the point that they were not providing a good seal. What I did to fix this is I went to my local hardware store (Home Depot nor Lowes had what I needed and thier toliet repair kits tend to be junk) and bought rubber compression washers. These have a lip on one end and a threaded nut on the other. I tried to find ones that were as wide as the holes in the tank without being wider. They were also about a quarter inch or so longer than the thickness of the tank. You insert the compression washer in the hole with the lip of the washer on the inside of the tank. The threaded portion of the washer should be on the outside of the tank. Thread the bolt through the washer and begin to tighten. The end of the washer with the threaded nut will begin to slide up towards the bottom of the tank. As it does so, it pinches the rubber and actually creates a lip on the bottom of the tank as well. Once you have done this for both bolts, you should be able to re-attach it to the bowl.

Now mind you, you may also need to get some wide metal washers (with holes only as large as the bolt) to give the rubber washer a base so it does not slide through the hole in the tank. You may also need to get new bolts that are threaded the same as the nuts in the rubber washer. Of course, you may also need to get new nuts and washers to attach to the bolts on the underside of the bowl. I went through a few sizes before I found exactly the right size I needed. The hardware store I was dealing with allowed me to return the sizes that did not work for me.

Good luck!

Answer 2

OK, OK, and now for the RIGHT answer. If the toilet is leaking from the bolts, then i presume that the water is going to the floor, or running down the side of the toilet. Check two things.
1. The two brass bolts you inserted on either side of the flapper/flush valve. Those should NOT have any metal washers on the INSIDE of the tank. Yes, you can get them to work this way, sometimes, but they will corrode onto the brass bolts and leak soon. the flat shiny metal washers go UNDER the tank and should be secured with little nuts, also brass, from the bottom. Otherwise what happens is that water will leak between the big, flat, wide head of the brass bolt and the metal washer. (metal on metal doesnt make a great water tight seal in a toilet tank)
2. The tank to bowl gasket. (big round donut spongy thing) There are basically ( i said basically ) two types. One is really tall (thick) and is made for Gerber toilets. Check the inside of your tank or the top part of the bowl for the name Gerber. If you see that name get the appropriate gasket. If your toilet is a Gerber and you try
to put in a "Standard" gasket, it wont compress the tank and bowl, so every time you flush water escapes, sometimes running down the bolts. If its not Gerber than most any other kind should work fine.
Outside of these two things, check the obvious. look for cracks in the porcelain, etc, but you should NEVER, EVER have to put any sort of "putty" or "sealant" inside a tank, that's just silly, and won't work, and if it appears to work, just give it time, it will fail. Plumbers know these things. Good Luck, hope this helps. V.C.

Answer 3

If you would have over tightened the bolts you would have cracked the tank. I put in a brand new toilet and within weeks the tank was leaking into the bowl and it was the flapper. You will need to replace the rubber gaskets or washer then try putting food coloring in the tank and see if it changes the color of the bowl water if it does then the problem is the flapper and your not getting a good seal. Sometimes just adjusting the chain from the handle to the flapper works also. Good luck.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
toilet leaks tank to bowl?
I replaced the guts in my toilet only to have a leak between the tank and bowl. I went a purchased a new rubber seal that looked more like the one I took off but it still leaks. I tried loosing the bolts and wiggling the toilet but no help.It is dripping from the bolts.Thanks for you help any help...

Answer 5

Gerber Toilet Tank

Answer 6

If it's "running becasue the seal between the tank and the bowl is not secure, there will be no water outside the system, like on the floor. If it's leaking at the bolts I assume you mean leaking out onto the floor. It is easy to overtighten these bolts. You may need new gaskets on the tank side of those bolts, and don't crank down so hard!

Answer 7

Water is not leaking around the rubber seal that you replaced.
It is leaking around the 2 brass bolts.

Go to Lowes and buy the right rubber washer gaskets for these 2 bolts, Then install the bolts and gasket with plenty of window putty around them and the rubber washers and ceramic tank on the inside at the hole.

If your rubber washers look good, then simply put regular window putty around the washer, bolt head and between the gasket and ceramic tank inside around the hole, then tighten oh so slightly, careful dont crack the ceramic.

Answer 8

Hi


Make sure the rubber is on the toilet tank the right way. Then place the tank on the toilet. Tighten the bolts down a little on each side as you tighten them .Make sure you don"t tighten to much as it will crack the toilet. Also make sure the rubber washers are placed on the inside of the toilet tank . Good Luck

Answer 9

Was a washer fitted between the new syphon and the base of the cistern? this cancause water to leak. when you tighten down the bolts, do it as evenly on each side as you can, but dont overtighten. The other thing to mention is the rubber doughnut may move out of position as you fit the cistern back on the bowl. Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Could have. the bolt heads in the tank will need new rubber gasket and try again. Don't reef it as tight as it will go. Just make it more than snug. Otherwise you will break the ceramic tank.