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I have a 30+ year old toilet. It is leaking from the connection between the bowl and the tank. I can dry the sucker out and try to figure out what is wrong and repair it.
After all, I did remove it and reinstall it once upon a time. Something I did fixed a problem it had with running slowly even when not in use.
Or, I could install a new toilet. I have had no problems with a low-flow budget quality toilet installed in my son's bathroom.
I'm not really afraid of doing this task. Just don't know whether I would be smarter to repair this toilet or get a newer one instead.
So, those of you with more plumbing experience than me.....which do you think is the wiser option?
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Joined: May 2007
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Get a new toilet. It will cost under $200 and take less than 15 minutes of your time. I fought with an aging toilet for years - replacing parts, tweeking them etc. What a pain in the royal behind. If I had known how cheap and easy it was to replace the whole thing I would have done it years ago!
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Where's "Joe The Plumber" when you need him?   Want2Stay
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Well, it sounds like the gasket is leaking, which is a fairly easy fix. Of course, if the bolts are old and rusted, you could end up breaking the toilet.
You can buy a repair kit, then shut off the water, and empty the tank. Use a screwdriver to hold the bolts in the tank and a 5/16" (I think) open end wrench to loosen the nuts underneath. You can spray them with WD40 first. If they loosen, you just remove the tank from the bowl, install new gasket, and tighten back down, going from one bolt to the other.
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I figure it's not a hard fix. But, given the effectiveness of son's new toilet, and it is a budget 'toilet in a box', I don't know which is the wiser choice.
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IMHO the decision to repair or replace depends... are you wearing pumps or 4" spiked heels? Shouldn't this be on the goddess thread??? You weren't looking for GUYS to answer, were you? Methinks "Joe the Plumber" is really "Jo the Plumber".
me - 47  H - 39  married 2001 DS 8a  DS 8b :crosseyedcrazy: (Why is DS7b now a blockhead???) (Ack! Now he's not even a blockhead, just a word! That's no fun!)
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You're right, Jayne, this really DOES belong on the goddess thread.
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I have a 30+ year old toilet. No sh**? Sorry, I can never resist that one! Our youngest toilet 2rned 88 this year. We try 2 save ours, especially the high tank guys with the cute pull chains. But yes, changing the gasket is pretty straightforward, if not necessarily fun 2 do. So is putting in a new toilet, in most cases. I think they're pretty cheap at the Home Despot, 2. ...but nothing beats an original Crapper for coolness! -ol' 2long
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If you are going to get a new one, get a Toto...Drake model is a one of their lower priced models with the same guts as their more expensive models. We bought it online with free shipping including their soft close lid for about $250. Great flushers...lower water use but with a larger water surface than most new toilets.
Otherwise, if your old one has been a reliable flusher...it is a good idea to fix it as some newer models are not as good.
Married 1976
Me:BS
Him:FWS
MB Weekend March 2003
2 S's: '77 & '80, 1 D: '82
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I have a 30+ year old toilet. I understand. I like to vent about my FWS, too. Oh, you mean a real toilet? Seriously, just replace it. A little water = big mess If you have the funds, do it!
Divorced
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great product...great prices for them on Ebay with free shipping as well.
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Hey 2l what are you doing here? Dontcha know this is girl-talk??? lol
J/K. Since I don't know anything beyond replacing the flapper and lever arm thingy, I can just make jokes.
Last edited by jayne241; 11/12/08 03:56 PM. Reason: Oh no, now lotsa guys are invading!!!
me - 47 H - 39 married 2001 DS 8a DS 8b :crosseyedcrazy: (Why is DS7b now a blockhead???) (Ack! Now he's not even a blockhead, just a word! That's no fun!)
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Drake is available for $130 plus $50 shipping on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Toto-Drake-Toilet-CST743-Brand-New_W0QQitemZ280282099170QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item280282099170&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
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Got the sucker dried out....got the tank off. Can't get the nuts off the bolts which hold the bowl to the floor. DRATS!!!! I know I can do this - - except for this glitch. I just don't have the tools or the confidence to do this part. That's why I have called x to come and help son w/ the bolts. DRATS!
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The new toilet is in place. xh and son did it. It's working very well.
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The new toilet is in place. xh and son did it. It's working very well. This thread has proved very useful to me too. I just bought three brand new Toto Drakes at $217 each (delivered), and thanks to our local drought conditions, my water company is giving me $215 back for each toilet. Not bad being able to put in 3 Totos for $6 (OK, with the cost of the wax ring it's $9). AGG
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I hate low-flow loos. The ones I bought a few years ago clog at least once a month. The old ones never did.
You know, you can change any old toilet into the equivalent of a low flow by just placing a large glass upright inside the tank (make sure it does not interfere with the valve actuator arm.) Water stays in the glass and reduces the flow volume by that same amount.
A brick works too.
"Never forget that your pain means nothing to a WS." ~Mulan
"An ethical man knows it is wrong to cheat on his wife. A moral man will not actually do it." ~ Ducky
WS: They are who they are.
When an eel lunges out
And it bites off your snout
Thats a moray ~DS
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I hate low-flow loos. The ones I bought a few years ago clog at least once a month. The old ones never did. I've owned Totos for many years, and have not had a single clog. Those guys know how to design toilets (large opening in tank, large glazed trapway, etc). I bought the first Toto after getting tired of my ex-MIL clogging the low-flow American Standard toilet every time she visited (don't ask), and the Toto has never clogged. I happily threw out the American Standard POS (pun intended) with its microscopic trapway and a ridge at the outlet which caught everything that tried to get past it. AGG
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