How to replace the Douglas valve or flush valve on your Toilet bowl.
Full step by step instructions on how to replace a toilet fill valve also known as a toilet Douglass valve. It sometimes becomes necessary to replace a toilet flush valve, some reasons are the tube has cracked and water keeps leaking into the toilet bowl. other reasons are problems getting the right flapper for the bowl or other parts break off the old flush valve. In the example below, a Mansfield flush valve was in the Mansfield toilet, I personally like the way the Mansfield flush valve works, and the washer is easy to replace, but this home owner wanted it replaced so he could just use a standard flapper in the toilet tank. The replacement instructions will work on many toilets but not all, some will have 2 bolts and others will have 3 bolts that tie the tank to the bowl, this does not matter. Some old Eljer toilets, have the flush valve system built into the porcelain of the bowl, this cannot be changed. but a special flapper is made specifically for this type of old Eljer toilets. Please click on any image, to see a larger image.
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If you are lucky the nut will turn, and the whole bolt will not turn. Oh YA! you may want to use rubber gloves. (remember all those times you missed) That's why the bolts may not turn. So don't Get Pissed off. (pardon the pun) if the nut will not come off the bolt, just get a 1/4" or a 3/8" drill bit and drill right through the center of the top of the bolt that is in the tank. The bolt will just drop out. |
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This is a close-up view of the bottom of the toilet tank you can see the flapper from below and the 2 bolts. some toilet tanks have a nut on the bolts at the bottom of the tank and others don't if your toilet tank has nuts be sure to use nuts on the replacement bolts, but if not don't put nuts on the bolts, this could cause the tank not to seal to the bowl or can crack the tank and bowl. |
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In the picture above, the long silver rod is a long 1/4" metal cutting drill bit, note how it is in the center of the top of the toilet bolt. |
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This is the cordless drill i used to drill the heat off the bolt. |
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To the left is the bolt with out the head, to the right is the head of the bolt detached from the bolt. |
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This tank has the nuts on the bottom of the toilet tank, so I am removing them, sometimes this nut will not move and you will need to cut it off or again drill the head off the top of the bolt. |
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The old washer from the old tank to bowl kit is dry rotted to the bottom of the toilet tank and needs to be cut off. |
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This is what the bottom of the toilet tank looks like with the bolts and rubber washer removed, this is an old toilet so the flush valve is made of brass not plastic. |
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The nut is just pot metal and is so old it just splits in half and comes off easy, you may have a brass nut and may need to use a wrench to get it off, but it may not turn and you may need to cut it off. |
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We are going to replace the flush valve or Douglass valve on this toilet. The seat on it has a worn area and a flapper will no longer make a 100 percent seal. |
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This is what the inside looks like now. I am going to replace everything in this tank. |
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As Always first things first, Turn off the water and disconnect the water supply. |
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In most cases you do not have to remove the toilet from the floor, But you will have to remove the tank from the bowl. Some have 2 bolts and others have 3, with one in the back, that may be hard to remove with the toilet against the wall. You should buy a new tank to bowl kit before you start. Bolts and nuts are different sizes, so find o wrench that fits the nuts under the tank, |