Broken closet bolt on a toilet bowl

[xtvius]

I was tightening my loose toilet bowl and inadvertantly broke off the nylon (?) closet bolt. Does this mean I now need to take off the bowl off the flange to replace the bolt? Of course, Mr. Murphy made sure that the broken bolt no longer protudes out of the bowl base.

[LazyPup]

The bad news is that you will need to pull the toilet to replace the bolt, however the good news is that this should be a realitively simple and inexpensive repair.

Before you begin you should get a new set of "toilet mount bolts" and a new wax ring, which you can find at any local hardware or home supply center for about $5 total cost.

NOTE: While your present bolts may be made of nylon; toilet mount bolts are generally made of brass. Toilet bolts are commonly made in 1/4", 5/16" & 3/8" diameters. While the diameter of the shank is different the size of the bolt heads is the same and they will work interchangably. Personally I would recommend the 5/16" brass bolts)

To replace the bolts you begin by turning off the water supply to the toilet. There should be a line stop or angle stop valve on the water line supplying the toilet.

With the supply valve off, flush the toilet to release the water in the tank. When the water level drops in the tank observe the fill valve to insure there is no water entering the tank. This proves the shutoff valve is holding and you can then disconnect the water supply line to the tank. (base of the fill valve on the underside of the tank on the lower left.)

After the flush there will still be a bit of residual water in the tank. (I prefer to use an old styrofoam coffee cup and a rag or sponge to remove the water.)

There will also be some water remaining in the bowl. Use a toilet plunger and force as much as you can down the drain.

Now open up a large plastic trash bag and set it on the floor next to the toilet so when you lift the toilet you will be able to sit it down on the trashbag then slip the bag up around the toilet bowl before moving it aside. In this manner the bag will catch any water that may spill out of the trap and avoid making a mess. I generally like to set the toilet down on its back in the bathtub. In this manner any water that remains in the trap will spill out into the tub and down the drain again avoiding a mess.

Remove the new wax ring from the box and set it aside, then use a putty knife to remove as much of the old wax ring as you can from the closet flange and put the excess wax in the wax ring box to be discarded later. Check the underside of the watercloset bowl and remove any excess wax that is stuck there as well.

NOTE: When removing the excess wax from the closet flange pay particular attention to the inside of the closet flange throat to make sure their is not an old wax ring plastic guide horn stuck in there. If you happen to install a new wax ring with a guide horn on top of an old guide horn it will cause the watercloset to sit higher than normal, which leads to a bowl rocking or possibly damaging the flange or bowl base.

Examine the bolt slots in the closet flange and you will see that each slot has a larger opening on one end. The Tee head of the toilet mount bolt is inserted into the larger opening, then slid around the slot until it is lined up at the proper position on the side of the closet flange.



With the bolts in place you may now set the new wax ring in place and carefully set the toilet back down into postition. Once the toilet contacts the wax ring you must press down firmly on the bowl and rock it side to side a bit to compress the wax until the bottom of the bowl is resting in firm contact with the floor. (Do not attempt to pull the toilet down by tightening the bolts because this may damage the flange or break the base of the ceramic bowl.)

You may now reconnect the water supply line and turn the water on. The tank should begin filling immediately.

Visually check the water line connections to insure you have no leaks and tighten if necessary.

Now comes the part that most homeowners and DIY'ers overlook. Sit down, coffee in hand and write out a bill for about $50 for the service call. Drop the bill in the household budget cookie jar, grab the cash and take your significant other out to dinner, you earned it.

[xtvius]

Thank you Lazypup... will try this afternoon.

[xtvius]

just returned from Home Depot with the wax and the bolts to do uninstall and reinstall of the bowl. While I was there, I noticed a wax-less installation product based on gaskets. Looking at it, it seemed much less messy and probably easier. Have you come across those and any opinion regarding them?