DIY: Easy Leaky Toilet Full Repair - Mansfield

Welcome back Tightwads. Today we are working on probably one of the least desirable jobs in the house. We're working on the toilet. This particular toilet is a man's filled toilet. As you can hear, the toilet runs continuously after you flush it. So we're going to replace the internal components. This is an older system and we're going to replace it with the Fluidmaster toilet fill valve. You can see the float functions differently on this one where it slides up and down the gray pole, whereas on this one you have the big tank float. In addition to that, we're going to replace the actual flush valve that goes down the center with the Everbilt. So the first thing we did is cut off the water on this valve and drain the water from the tank. We used a shop vac to vacuum the rest of the water out. Now we're going to remove the hardware and disconnect the tank from the toilet. You can see there's a seam here. There's three bolts inside that you remove. Then you also have to disconnect the water line right here. So the first step is to unscrew this piece, pull the hose out, put that to the side, and then you lift this piece off. You won't be reusing that so just discard it to the side. And then we have to remove this piece. Now that that piece is out of the way, we disconnect the water line and this piece will come off. And then we'll remove the tank to get this piece out. So once the nut is removed from the bottom, this piece just lifts out and then we can take out the tank bolts that you see in the bottom. Now that the three bolts are out, the tank just lifts off. And let me see the bottom. And the bottom has a rubber washer and under the rubber washer is a nut that you have to remove. You need a big pair of channel locks or some people use an oil filter wrench to remove it. So I have it loose now and I'll remove it. If you have a partner that can hold the inside of the tank or you can reach around with your other hand to do so. The replacement piece comes with this rubber washer farther down but it needs to slide all the way up even with this plastic. The other thing is that the replacement piece comes with a six-sided shape and the original one is fully round. It has little notches on it but if you try to use this one with the rubber washer, you can see it's round and it's going to cause leaks. So you want to use the original nut on the bottom of the tank. When replacing this nut, make sure it's good and tight. Otherwise you're going to have a leak around the edge of this. The tighter you get it, the farther it pulls the plastic valve down on the inside of the tank. This rubber nut then goes back on top of this. Make sure it's pushed all the way in and then you're ready to reseat the tank. If you go ahead and slip the tank bolts in place, it makes it easier when you're setting it back down on here because the bolts go in the holes and the centerpiece, the most important piece where the seal is, will automatically fit right into place. So when you set the tank back on, just line up the bolts with the holes and everything should slide right into place. Make sure your tank is sitting level and tighten the bolts. Don't tighten one bolt all the way down before tightening the others. Move back and forth between bolts to make sure they're all evenly tight. Your Fluidmaster kit comes with a rubber washer here and then a plastic washer. You put the rubber washer all the way up to the edge of the plastic again. The flat side goes against the plastic and then this plastic piece goes under the tank and screws onto these threads to tighten it up. Set the Fluidmaster valve inside the tank and tighten the plastic nut on the bottom like this. Once you get that plastic nut in place, bring this other one up and tighten it as well. Your Fluidmaster kit will come with this piece but it's not necessary to use it on a man's filled toilet. You need to make sure that you tighten all the bolts with the long screwdriver but don't over tighten them because they can cause a crack in the porcelain. Next, take the tubing and test fit it and then cut it to length so that it fits down in the hole and attaches to the flush valve here. The last step is to turn the water back on and do a test flush. When you do a test flush, watch for leaks here in the front, between the tank and the toilet here, and here. If you have no leaks, your project is done and you can place the lid back on your toilet. It may be a good idea to check again the day after your installation to make sure there are still no signs of water leakage around the toilet. If you found this video helpful, please give it a thumbs up. Also, subscribe to my channel so you can see when I post new videos. If you'd like to see a video showing the proper way to deadhead knockout roses, click the video on the top left. If you'd like to see a video for how to repair an air conditioner unit, click the video in the top right. Please leave comments below if you have any questions about this project or suggestions for other projects you would like to see done around the house.