I have an 11 year old toilet that has started leaking over the past few months. I realized the leak was an issue when my water bill doubled. I did the leak test with food coloring and it tested positive for a leak as expected. I replaced a warped flapper and waited a few days yet there was still a steady drip of water entering the toilet bowl between flushes. Today, I replaced everything inside the toilet (flush valve assembly, refil tube assembly, gaskets, toilet bolts ---everything!). This involved reseating the tank on the bowl with a new gasket. I am quite frustrated that now after these repairs are completed the steady drip into the toilet bowl is still there. What could I have missed?
I'm a single mom on a budget and was hoping to avoid calling a plumber. Any suggestions?

Feel around the seat the flapper rests on. Any nicks or rough edges? When you replaced the flapper did it have a rubber ring on it. If vso cut it off and reinstall the flapper. Has the flapper chain got 1/4" inch of play in it? Did you tighten the large nut on the flush valve,( #12 in the image) when you had the tank off? All of the above would give you the systems you describe. Check them out and get back to me. Good luck, Tom

Did you install the little clip to hold that black tube to the top of the overflow pipe or did you just stick the tube down into the pipe.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I did install the clip to hold the tube. That part seems to be working fine now. Prior to the repair, the old model had a tube that extended down in the refil tube and it was dripping. With that problem solved, I wasn't sure why I still had a leak.

I have checked the ceramic opening in the tank and did find a few rough spots. I filed them smooth and reinstalled the tank/refil tube assembly. The opening where the flapper sits is brand new and I couldn't find any rough spots on it.

The chain has adequate slack in it when the flapper is down. I did tighten the nut on the bottom of the tank prior to installing it. The directions said hand-tighten, which I did, but since I don't have strong arms, I gave it 1-2 additional gentle turns with a wrench so as not to crack the bowl.

I have tried leveling the tank on my third attempt to intall it and fix my leak.
I also removed the 2 small rubber pieces between the bowl and the tank which were there from when the toilet was originally installed. It seemed they were there to prevent the bowl from touching the tank. I thought they might be preventing the new gasket from smushing (for lack of a better word) enough to adequately seal the opening.

Still it leaks!! There is a single drop of water about every 30 seconds running down the tiny channel at the back of the toilet bowl. Thanks for the advice. Do you have any more suggestions?

Do you have anyway of testing your water pressure, it should be around 40 psi. If your pressure is very high it might be just pushing water past the stop cock.

Yes, I would say that the tank is leaking into the toilet bowl at a rate of about 1 droplet of water every 15-30 seconds.

It was leaking before replacing all the tank parts, and it is still leaking after replacing all the tank parts. I have re-done the tank parts 3 times today trying to get the leak to stop.

I've cut off the water supply valve to the toilet for now and will wait for more suggestions.

How high up is the water level compared to the top of the white overflow tube?

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Originally Posted by

The directions said hand-tighten, which I did, but since I don't have strong arms, I gave it 1-2 additional gentle turns with a wrench so as not to crack the bowl.

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Which nut? The big one around the overflow pipe or the bolts holding the tank to the bowl?

How are the bolts holding the tank to the bowl done? A washer under the head of the bolt inside the tank, then a nut on the outside and a second nut to hold the tank to the bowl;
Or a washer under the head of the bolt and the bolt going all the way through to the tank and the bowl with one nut holding everything together?

I'd put the spacers back between the tank and the bowl.

I tightened the big white nut (approx 3" in diameter).

The screws that originally attached the tank to the bowl were a screw head/rubber washer inside the tank and then the bolts went directly into the bowl with a nut under the bowl for tightening. These screws and nuts were very rusty when they were removed.

The screws that came with the replacement kit had a screw head/rubber washer inside the tank; a brass washer and nut to fasten on the underside of the tank; and then a rubber washer, brass washer, and wing nut to fasten on the underside of the bowl. These are the ones I used today and followed the package instructions for installation. I have tightened these screws/nuts with wrenches as well being careful not to overtighten/crack the tank.

I don't have a way to test water pressure.

Also, the water level in the tank is approx. 1 inch below the top of the refil tube, and the refil tube was cut to be 1 inch below the marking on the Flushmaster flush valve as the package instructions directed.

I forgot to reply to a previous post... I did cut the extra ring off the original replacement flapper. The flapper that is in use now came with the Flushmaster kit and was already attached on the hooks when I opened the box. It has a dial on it to adjust it... I've tried it at it's minimum setting and at it's maximum setting with no luck in stopping the leak.

Do I have an incorrect impression?
I envision that you have a leak from the tank that is dripping on to the back of bowl between the two little ridges on the back of the bowl. This leak is running across the back of the bowl and down into the bowl.

If this is correct then you have a leak around the overflow pipe (where the big nut screws on) or around the bolts that hold the tank to the bowl. It is probably around the overflow pipe. That has to be a little more than hand tight. I don't think that you are likely to break the tank with a plastic overflow pipe and nut.

If it were leaking around the "tank to bowl" bolts the leak would probably drip directly down on the floor.

Thanks. You have the correct vision. The leak is into the bowl, so it sounds like I need to disassemble the tank from the bowl again and use a wrench to tighten the big nut on the overflow pipe some more.
Off to the bathroom yet again... hope this works.

Tightening the big nut tighter didn't work. It actually made the drip worse. I give up. I've turned off the water supply to the toilet so it won't have water to leak.
Hopefully, I can find a strong neighbor to help me one day soon.

I assume you used all the proper gaskets. If all else fails, take the overflow off, dry the tank and gaskets, coat the gaskets with a film of silicone or put a bead of silicone around the hole in the tank and reinstall. Don't know what is happening, this shouldn't be this hard.

I think Harold is correct and that 3" nuts needs more tightening. In Tom's diagram that nut is located on the collar mark 12

Ok, I'll try one more time. I don't think the gaskets were dry the last time I reassembled everything. I'll take it apart and let it dry overnight.

The gaskets I used were what came with the Fluidmaster replacement kit so they should work with their product.

Were you referring to silicone caulk? Or another type of silicone?

At the hardware store in the plumbing section there is a small container of "silicone grease".
It helps rubber parts seal and also helps make rubber to metal surfaces slippery. He latter can be found in movable faucets like the kitchen sink.

When installing make sure the surfaces are relatively smooth and clean. You might even try cleaning them up with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper.

Yes, clear silicone caulk. The reason I said dry everything is just to make sure that the silicone sticks. Very few things stick to a wet surface.