Kohler toilet seat replacement for one-piece.

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nosilla

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I cant believe it!

KOHLER sent me the kit for FREE!!! (or at least they said they would)

I had this same problem, anchor corroded to the screw, I yanked it out, but didnt know how to put the seat back on. I read all of your helpful replies, was ready to go to the hardware store because I am not going to give Kohler ANY more money for being such a lame company.

Listen to this, I called:

1-800-4--KOHLER

They quoted me 47$ for the kit, I said,

"I am not going to pay $47 for the kit, I don't need the kit, just the anchor, which probably cost a dollar." She gave me some reasons why the kit cost that much, I said I didnt need the tools, just the anchor.

She said, let me see if I can separate out the parts, then said, "I can give you the anchor, for $8.50." I said:

"I am not going to pay $8.50 for a part that cost a dollar." Then, she put me on hold for like 5 mintues... came back, and said she would send it for free!!!!!

Well, I guess I shouldn't be celebrating until it arrives, I will let you know. I bet they have some protocol: if the customer resists three times, give it to them for free.

TRY IT!
 
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nosilla

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yes, Kohler did send me the kit

i protested, and yes, they did send me the 47$ kit for free. and it worked. it was DEFINITELY not worth 47$. definitely protest that one.
 

laborc

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We felt so dumb after calling 1 800 4 kohler

After reading some of these post, my husband and I were all set to call Kohler and complain about the stupid design of a all in one toilet that doesn't allow you to change the toilet seat. Since the design is their fault, we shouldn't have to pay $47 for a kit to fix their mess.

We have only lived in our home 2 years. The house was built in 1990 and has 3 bathrooms of which 2 have all in one toilets.

I tried everything to tighten the wobbling toilet seats, which I decided to replace. At first I purchased the wrong kind of seat because I didn't know there wasn't any access to the underneath of the bolts. I went to Home Depot, Lowes and even looked it up on the kohler website to no avail. After reading these post, I called 800 4 kohler and gave the model # and date the toilet was manufactured (1988). The Kohler tech told me to take the top off the tank and reach inside (water and all) where there was access to the bolts. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't help but wonder if this access was true for anyone else with a one piece toilet. After two years of trying to get a toilet seat on and stationary, I'm very happy now.
 

kohler_PITA

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Rubber Expansion Plugs?

Of course, I found out, trying to find 10-32 3/8"x3/4" rubber expansion plugs is not that easy. They didn't have them at HD (or at least no one knew where they were if they did). I went to True Value Hardware and they had every size but.

I tried a size larger and they wouldn't fit in the holes. So now I go on the great rubber expansion plug safari.

Joe

Any luck finding the rubber expansion plugs? I've been to 3 hardware stores now - the last store had rubber plugs, but they were solid (no hole to put a screw into). The best I could do was to use a plastic anchor. got the seat mounted, but it's loose. I'm unhappy.
 

Paki

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Well I did find the 10-32 expansion plugs at two local hardware stores in So. Cal, LA area. Look in the hardware aisle, and look for the plastic drawers on the side of the aisle with specialty nuts. They should be in one of the drawers, individually wrapped in Plastic. They worked better for me than the Kohler anchors.

One of the holes drilled out on my one piece toilet appeared a bit uneven on the edges and the Kohler provided anchor was first loose and then broke with the setting bolt anchored to it. I had to cut it out after searching for the correct tools to do so for a while. A standard hacksaw did not "cut" it. I got a replacement anchor set from Kohler for free, but the replacement broke as well, though removal was a little easier this time.

The rubber expansion plugs proved much easier to mount and use.

After speaking with the "engineering" staff at Kohler I realized they: (a) either do not scknowledge the problem (b) don't care (c) view it as a money making enterprise. In other words they will continue to sell those one piece toilets with out any modifications to them. (a) and (b) are just as bad as (c). I reccomend stayin away from the one piece Kohlers, hard as it is to say given they are a local American product.
 

sdfor123

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has anyone determined where to by the 10-32 3/8"x3/4" rubber expansion plugs?
 

Paki

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has anyone determined where to by the 10-32 3/8"x3/4" rubber expansion plugs?

Home Depot, hardware aisle. Look in the plastic drawers in the side. I got the 10-32, 1 1/16 inch anchors, though they have 3/4 inch as well. I bought screws that were 11/2 inch and made sure they were brass and fit the threaded portion of the rubber expansion plugs. Make sure you buy washers that fit snugly under the shoulderof the expansion plug as they provide support to it. Also buy a washer to go under the screw head, as HD only has screws with heads that are smaller than those used by toilet seats.

I bought a round front Toto toilet seat, which was a bit on the expensive side, but works well. Lastly, it takes MUCH less effort to install the rubber expansion plug/screw setup than the Kohler anchors. Although based on what I see, when the toilet seat comes up for a change you may need to be prepared to replace the expansion plugs screws and all.
 

sdfor123

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Kohler has gotten the message - I think

I have the same problem and I called customer support 1800-4-Kohler and they are sending me the complete kit without charge. The customer service reps know the problem and have been hearing about it for years.

Be nice, but firm.
 

fly71

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HD has them - part # 83978 (trust me it took me two trips and me digging around in the speciality drawers) - still figuring out this works but looks good. I also saw a blog that if you complain to Kohler enough they will send you the repair kit for free.
 
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fly71

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Yes - I just called Kohler and they are shipping the part out free of charge - Yeah!
 

DES

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alternate solution

--I may be able to help with the rubber expansion bolt problem.
--Clearly the Kohler toilets are useless junk. The handle mechanism on mine is very touchy and hard to adjust. The toilet doesn't flush well or efficiently. But my real problems started when the Kohler toilet seat broke. I've replaced lots of toilet seats but the hidden aluminum tube that holds the toilet seat bolt inside the porcelain body was a new one for me. The corrosion that locked the steel bolt into place was a challenge. I cut the plastic toilet hinge off, but the steel bolt was another matter. I appreciate the suggestion to hacksaw the bolt head off, but I was wary of scuffing the porcelain surface where there's little room to work, so I drilled out the head and twisted off the remnants. As others have suggested, once the bolt head is gone, the rest of the bolt drops down into the internal void. The suggestion to drill out the alumninum receptacle and insert an expansion bolt/insert was interesting, but others have pointed out the difficulty of finding that bolt in just the right size. In addition I was wary of drilling out the tube and fracturing the porcelain. So I used a hollow wall anchor inside the aluminum tube. Fasten the seat down with a drywall screw and a washer and you're done. Incidentally, I put wheel bearing grease around the original Kohler bolt that I put back in the undamaged, threaded aluminum tube, hoping that I'll be able to get the bolt out easily next time. Good luck.
DES
 

julietteo

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I have this same toilet seat issue as of Friday afternoon. Discovered the same as all of you, no way to get the second spinning screw off that toilet! Does anyone ever get the seat off and replaced with no problem? I really didn't know that I had to buy a special KOHLER seat either. After reading a few of the posts here, I called 1-800KOHLER and spoke with Carla who was very nice and understanding. She said she was very familiar with this problem. She said I could use any round seat, but needed a special KIT and she gave me the KIT number that 's was quoted in a prior post and that several plumbing supply places near me would have it. She gave me their names, addresses and phone numbers. I had mentioned to her that my home had flooded during Katrina and this toilet was installed the year after (2006). Due to that she wanted to send the KIT to me for free. I wanted to go buy it and get the seat on immediately - but then something made me ask her the price of the kit. As you know, it is $47.10!! I had a FIT! I asked her what fool designed a toilet that would require a kit to take the seat off in the first place and then if that wasn't bad enough, the fool's boss priced the kit at $47. She thought they designed it like this so the back of the bolt would not fall inside the toilet...get real...really? I have changed a lot of seats on toilets in my years, and none of the hardware has ever fallen inside the toilet. I did have the screwdriver fall in once. Anyway, I am getting the kit for free as well, and we are using another bathroom until then. I will post exactly how hard(??) or easy(!) it will be to accomplish once the kit has arrived.
 

Jadnashua

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Typical Kohler design decision...they like to do it their way. There may be some good reasons for it, but to me, anyway, most of them just seem to be because they can, not because it needs to be that way. It certainly doesn't make it easy (or in many cases cheap). Their better mousetrap generally isn't IMHO.
 

julietteo

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I am back with update to my quest of the KOHLER toilet seat replacement. I received the "SEAT ANCHOR KIT" on 3/1/2011 (remember I called Kohler on 2/18 about it) it was sent via USPS. I wish I could post a pix of the kit for you as I took photos of it. It consisted of two metal bars, one to "stabilize" the bolt tight so you can get the bolt to screw out. NADA! NO, NOPE, No Can DO!!!
Step 2 of their instructions says if that doesn't work to - "may have to pull out bolt with pliers by gripping firmly and pulling upward". Step 3 says, when bolt is removed (???WHAT??? really, someone got it out??? Not me, not my husband, we had to cut the head of the bolt off and drill it out with a titanium dill bit. WHICH WE HAD TO GO BUY. THEN, we had to drill out the anchor that was left inside the toilet!!!!!!!! I just cannot believe this - CAN ANYONE BELIEVE THIS??? ANYONE???? Then, to add insult to this, this $47.10 kit does not include TWO of everything to put the new toilet seat on. NOPE. Only 1 set of washers, two bolts and two anchors. You CANNOT USE the bolts or screws that come with the new toilet seat. I purchased a $12.95 white round wood toilet seat made by some other company (DEFINITELY not Kohler) I was told by Kohler rep that I could use any other brand. So then we had to go BUY more washers and then put the seat on. It remained stable for two days. Then loosened up and started to shift again. The other thing is, you cannot just get a screwdriver and tighten it up...NOPE...you have to get a freaking ratchet and tighten it. I called KOHLER again today to complain about it and to ask them if they are still selling this design or have they changed the design after all these complaints. I have seen many more complaints besides here about this, etc. Guess what they say? Oh, yes, they are still selling it, same design. Even though all these complaints have been sent to their design dept. I am not done with this. I am calling a different dept later and continue this. They need to take this off market until they fix this. Outrageous!!!
 
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Wayne T

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No Help From Kohler

I have the same problem and after reading thru these posts I decided to call Kohler. They offered me the kit for $47 and I told them they should provide it for free due to their poor design. They said I had to buy it so I told them I would replace the toilet with a different brand and never buy another Kohler product. They said sorry but we can't help.
 

jim15ranger

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alternative fix to kohler one-piece toilet seat

I ran into this same problem a while back and came up with an alternative fix. Instead of buying the $47 dollar kit from Kohler (that was bound to have the same problem again in the future) or buying a hard to find rubber expansion plug, I went with an anchor bolt.

1.) Purchase a 5 pack of Hilti 3/8 in. x 1-7/8 in. Zinc-Plated Steel Hex-Nut-Head Sleeve Anchors.

hilit_sleeve_anchor.jpg

The zinc-plated steel bolt will stand up to the corrosive environment the toilet seat is subjected to.

2.) Using a dremel tool, open up the fastener hole in the toilet porclien until the anchor bolt will slide in. The hole is almost big enough for the bolt so only a little bit of work with the dremel tool is needed.

3.) Slip the anchor bolts in and tighten down until they seat properly in the hole. CAUTION: Do not over-tighten the bolts, this may cause the porcelain to crack! Take your time, go slow, and just hand tighten the bolt.

4.) Cut the extra thread shank off the of the end of the bolt using a dremel or hack saw.

The nuts sit a little high so some toilet seats may nut provide enough recess in the hole to accommodate the 1/2" nut height. I found that this toilet seat worked perfectly

comfort_seat_gold.jpg
 
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Jimbo

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Does the fact that a thread about changing a toilet seat has run to four pages, involves A dremel, a titanium drill bit , and hilti fasteners.......does THIS convince anyone that kohler is a pain in the butt?????????????
 

ekevinmcgarry

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first you have to get mad at it and decide that if you fail, a replacement toilet is in order. take the sawzall with a metal cutting blade, protect the porcelain with the cardboard from the toilet seat box and cut the bolts. the old offending anchors will drop out of sight. good riddance.

take the plastic nuts which have wings. the wings are too large to seat in the existing holes. take you belt sander, turn it over and angle the plastic wings on the nut so the nut can be driven into the hole. drive the nuts home and attach the seat.
 
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