What am I looking at here?

I'm installing a new Drake in my basement, and when I took off the old toilet, I found something I don't recognize, nor do I remember hearing of anything like it.

It looks (and bends) like a lead sleeve that goes 3 or 4 inches below the flange, inside the pipe, and is bent out over the flange. Two holes let the bolts through, but there are no more openings through the lead.

Pipe in the slab is 3" CI.... house is mid 1980's vintage, though the toilet I pulled is a 1994 vintage AS piece of garbage.

Is this some cob job? Can anyone guess what problem was being solved? The flange appears to be the right height without it.

Top view: http://123pichosting.com/images/8253P1010114.JPG
Side view: http://123pichosting.com/images/5815P1010116.JPG

I'm pretty sure you ARE looking at a lead sleeve. Not that uncommon on CI.

jadnashua said:

I'm pretty sure you ARE looking at a lead sleeve. Not that uncommon on CI.

Click to expand...

What purpose does it serve, given that there's a flange below it?

I'm trying to decide whether to remove the lead to check out the flange, and make any necessary changes; or just put the new toilet on.

I'm suspicious of the qualiy of this installation because I've been unimpressed by the quality of the work I've found under the other three toilets in this house...two low flanges, one high flange. The high flange actually turned out to be an easy fix, as it was the result of no one removing the short lengths of coppper tube used as spacers to hold up the flange for the tiler!

Follow up posted in General Plumbing forum...........