leaking toilet

ian103

we have a close coupled wc that has just started to leak between the cistern and the pan. is this likely to be the overflow or the washers on the feed / flush.

Oldsoak

Could be one of a couple of things.

The inlet pipe to the cistern should have a rubber washer as a seal, this could be damaged or the pipe may be loose.

The 'doughnut' between the cistern and pan may be perished, it is easy and cheap to replace if you are a competent DIYer.

Is the toilet new? or has it been disturbed from the room being refurbed/ decorated etc?

The more info you provide, the better the diagnosis you'll get, but these are the first things you could check.

Good luck.

ian103

We think it has leaked for a while (very minor) as when I showed my OH she said she had always noticed it was damp in the corner. I have never worked on a close coupled wc before, but I assume similar principle to standard wc except the cistern isfixed to the pan rather than the wall. I was thinking the leak could be on the bottom feed inlet as there is a washer there and it appears that the water leaks at this point, also a washer at each fixing position. where is the doughnut washer you refer to - is this on the underside of the cistern to the pan? I assume whichever washer is faulty I really need to remove the cistern and replace all of the rubber washers. Can you buy just the washers at screwfix or similar. Is it possibe for a washer to fail overtime?

tigeress289

Quick rundown on a close coupled toilet.
Check the bottom feed first. Wrap some toilet paper round the nut and see if it is leaking. Check above the feed it dry to see if leaking from cistern where the feed goes in. If all OK
Flush the toilet and use toilet paper around where the cistern sits on toilet, to see if leaks. If it does the seal inbetween the cistern and toilet needs changing or resealing.
This is done by turning off supply. Drain contents of cistern out with a sponge. Disconnect feed nut on overflow if there is one. Un tighten the 2 wing nuts either side of the cistern to the the pan. They are just behind the toilet seat nuts.
Lift the cistern off. You will see the doughnut washer as it is quite big. If perished change, or you could clean it up and reseal using either boss white/silicone/plumbers mate. BEST TO CHANGE IT AS EASILY SOURCED.
FITTING BACK IS JUST REVERSE AND MAKE SURE YOU CHANGE THE WASHER ON THE FEED. YOU ARE NOW A PLUMBER. SORRY ABOUT TYPE BUT HIT WRONG KEY AND TO LATE TO CHANGE. GOOD LUCK

keystone

Always but always change the doughnut on dismantling a CC WC for a new one even if it looks OK. Never ever use silicone or plumbers mate or anything else on a doughnut washer. First its not needed and second its a bodge.

Cheers

keystone

tigeress289 wrote: »

SORRY ABOUT TYPE BUT HIT WRONG KEY AND TO LATE TO CHANGE. GOOD LUCK

There is an edit post function button just underneath your post.

Cheers

ian103

ok drained the toilet cistern and discovered the first problem (i coming to the conclusion that the previous owners nickname must have been Cowboy1) when the flush mechanism was installed he managed to somehow position the overflow tube over the fixing bolt and they cannot be accessed from underneath. don't know how he fitted it but i'm trying to think of a way of moving the overflow so i can get the cistern off. good job weve got a second toilet.

MX5huggy

Are you sure it's not just condensation from the outside?

tigeress289

Sounds like he fitted the overflow last. No worry ,if plastic you can cut part of it out and refit after using a solvent connector(jointing piece). The overflow shouldnt be stopping you from getting to both nuts? We are talking underneath,yes.
On the sealant point, in a perfect world, when new there is no need for any sealants, I agree.But when coming up against old install and OP's doing the installing. There is nothing worse than refitting something and it still leaks or worst. Off the top of my head, there must be 10 common doughnut rings and plenty of specialized ones. So in these circumstances, I stick by what I say. Any pics would help?

tigeress289

Just had a rethink of your post, when you say the fixing bolt,are we talking inside or outside cistern?

ian103

inside the cistern, the whole pan is enclosed, i just can't figure out how he installed it, as from your post above the way i think it should have been installed is to fit the water feed to the cistern, fit the flush mechaism and then fix the cistern to the pan.