Fix That Leaky Toilet Flush Valve
Saturday November 8, 2008
One of the most frustrating home repair plumbing problems is that of a leaky toilet flush valve. The symptoms of a bad valve include a constantly refilling flush tank caused by tank water leaking through the flush valve into the toilet. As the water leaks, the tank water level falls and the toilet ballcock fills it back up again. It's a wasteful and annoying problem.
Fortunately it's an easy fix if you know how and use the right kit. The tutorial Repairing a Leaky Toilet Tank Flush Valve describes an easy repair for a leaky toilet tank drain flush valve using the Fluidmaster 555C "Flusher Fixer." For under $10 you get a quiet toilet again and stop leaking water down the drain.
Comments
Bob, In your discussion regarding expansion tanks. You first state as a symptom the tank is hot to the touch from bottom to top. Then stated later as a fix?! the tank should feel hot to the touch from bottom to top if not it should be drained. That’s where I got confused. should the tank always be hot at the bottom over the top? when? After boiler shuts down?
Thanks
JohnG
I replaced the valve per your instructions, and it worked great. NOW I have a new problem — when the tank is refilling, it lets out a high-pitched squeal until the tank fills. I have tried adjusting the valve that lets the water in about 100 different ways, but nothing seems to be helping — the problem is someplace in the tank. Any thoughts?
That was a great tutorial. I’ve been putting up with a slow leak for a while, and I have no idea how long it was going on before I noticed it. I might actually feel comfortable enough to try this repair myself. Thanks!
Hi John,
The expansion tank should have air in it and should feel hotter on the bottom than the top. In the tutorial you refer to, if the tank is hot from top to bottom, that’s a symptom of it being filled with water with no room to expand. Hope this helps.
Bob
Like Bill I have a noisy squeal when the tank is filling. How can this be solved?
Squealing during a fill is usually a problem with the fill valve or high water pressure. First try reducing the water pressure flow to the toilet tank by closing off the water supply line to the toilet a bit. If that does not fix the problem then the toilet fill valve needs to be replaced or flushed to clear out any small debris that could be causing the problem. Replacing it is easy.
Bob:
Have a leaking water expansion tank next to my hot water heaters. Tank is cold top to bottom. Is it full of water and I need to remove some of it? Do I need to replace it? Advice, please. Thanks