

If you replace it at the same time as the toilet tank bolts, you won’t have to replace it for a few years. If your toilet starts to leak between the tank and the bowl, it’s maybe time to replace the spud washer. It’s also known as a spud washer.Įvery time you flush the toilet, the spud washer prevents leaks between the toilet tank and the bowl.

Normally, this gasket is put on the exterior of the flush valve, where the tank rests on the bowl. It’s also a good idea to replace the toilet tank with a bowl gasket while replacing the toilet tank bolts. People who live in areas with hard water are more prone to have this condition than those who reside in areas with soft water.


These nuts or washers will very certainly need to be changed to prevent the leak. This anchors the tank to the ground and keeps it from shifting. With most versions, rubber washers lay between the bolt head and the inside of the tank.īetween the tank and the bowl are washers or spacers, and a washer made of metal, rubber, or plastic is put on the bolt between the bowl and the nut. These bolts pass through a hole at the bottom of the tank and then through holes in the bowl which match. Two-piece toilets usually include a series of bolts that connect the tank to the bowl. However, no flushing toilet is perfect, and this is no exception.Ī toilet that leaks from its tank bolts is frequently leaking because of broken, misaligned or even shattered washers or bolts. Sometimes the wing nuts need a very slight extra tighten after a few days, if the tank is wobbly.The American Standard Toilet is a great addition to any bathroom. If you get drips from the bolts, take it all apart and put some pipe dope on the bolt threads for the first inch, near and under the bolt head, and a thin layer around the tank holes, above and below.Īnd a thin layer on the metal washer facing up to the lower rubber washer. With a rubber/fiber washer on both sides of the tank bottom holes, the tank is much more likely to stay leak free. Slide up a metal washer onto each bolt, attach wing nuts, and tighten a little bit back and forth, adjusting tank until the tank is level and secure. Getting it wet sometimes helps it stay where it belongs during tank attachment. Then make sure the tank to bowl gasket is in good shape and sitting right. Tighten the nuts snug, but too tight can crack china, or squish the rubber washers too much and they will distort and leak. Then slide up another rubber/fiber washer, then a metal washer, then a hex nut. The way I would do it is to install a rubber/fiber washer onto the bolts, then slide the bolts down through the tank holes. First, make sure the china near the holes is clean, and no minerals or slime.
