Toilet siphon diy problems

degsie

The toilet no longer flushes, most likely the siphon diaphragm is torn, so attempting a repair/replace.

Couple of problems

1) I turned off the water supply feeding the taps and cistern but there is still a small flow into the cistern while the tap flow is completely off. The shutoff valve is in the upstairs closet.

2) I emptied the cistern, removed the two wingnuts for the lower clamp, disconnected the overflow pipe, disconnected the water inlet (still a small flow as mentioned before) and removed the two long screws securing to the wall.
I am attempting to lift off the cistern but it wont budge! I suspect there is something still securing it to the pan, like adhesive or sealant? I don't want to force it for fear of snapping something...

Anybody any ideas?

I have attached a couple of photos if that helps.

Alun

If it's like mine, a so-called "close coupled" cistern there are two wing nuts underneath the back of the pan that need to be removed first. Also you'll probably need to replace the soft "doughnut" washer that sits between the cistern and the pan as they tend to get a bit crumbly and deteriorate over time and the old one can't usually be re-used. You can buy kits with new washers and ancillary hardware quite easily at plumbing suppliers or DIY stores.

This is the guide I followed ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4AdckesOlg

degsie

Alun wrote: »

If it's like mine, a so-called "close coupled" cistern there are two wing nuts underneath the back of the pan that need to be removed first. Also you'll probably need to replace the soft "doughnut" washer that sits between the cistern and the pan as they tend to get a bit crumbly and deteriorate over time and the old one can't usually be re-used. You can buy kits with new washers and ancillary hardware quite easily at plumbing suppliers or DIY stores.

This is the guide I followed ...

Thanks, that's exactly what I've done but I still can't pull the cistern up. Something else is securing it.

Alun

degsie wrote: »

Thanks, that's exactly what I've done but I still can't pull the cistern up. Something else is securing it.

Possibly some silicone somewhere then, either between cistern and wall or between cistern and pan, both entirely unnecessary.

homer911

degsie wrote: »

Thanks, that's exactly what I've done but I still can't pull the cistern up. Something else is securing it.

In theory you have done everything right so far - You could try some WD40 which may help soften anything but after that I'd apply some pressure..

Alun

Yes, try rocking it a bit from side to side or back to front, or levering upwards between cistern and pan if you can squeeze something in there like a screwdriver.

degsie

Thanks for the suggestions, will brute force a bit later

Wish I could figure out why I still get some water flow in this toilet after shutting the valve, another toilet in the house is shut off fine.

Wish all toilets/taps had separate shut off valves.

Alun

Mine still dripped a little bit too for some reason, but I just stuffed a bit of cloth in there and taped it off with a bit of duck tape to stop it while I did the job.

I had a plan to splice a small cutoff valve into the water inlet pipe while I was at it but was under pressure to get the job done quickly so never got around to it.

Good luck!

dodzy

Silicon or gripfill between the back of the cistern and the tiled wall.Seen it many times. You can't see it, but i'd say odds on it's your culprit. Get a handsaw and run it between the tile and the cistern. If it's there ,that'll sort it. And as Alun suggested, fit an inline valve for future convenience

degsie

Finally got the cistern off, was siliconed to within an inch of its life to the pan
Ciphon replaced and working great. Not an ounce of silicon applied during re-install

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Alun

Well done! There's absolutely no need for silicone in that situation, makes my blood boil when that happens.

turbodiesel

Just to make life easier here's a photo of my torn Diaphragm so you know what you are looking for. I had a plumber fitting a new shower so got a new flushing system in mine while the plumber was with us.