Kohler toilet seat replacement for one-piece.

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yorkieluv

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Thanks everyone,this forum was so helpful. The anchor sells for about $8.00 and its better than dealing with Kohler or running all over town trying to find something that might work. I called customer service and found that the rep was rude and said every toilet manufacturer has the same issue. After pushing the issue she offered a One time free replacement bolt, however it would take over a month to ship. My conclusion is that I will never purchase Kohler products i the future.
 
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Evan Chipman

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Until yesterday evening I was in the same "seat" as all of you that have been trying to find a solution for replacing the toilet seat on a 1-piece Kohler Toilet. Just out of sheer frustration and my unwillingness to pay $46.00 to Kohler for their "kit," I began my quest to figure out a simple, cheap way to solve this problem. I, along with thousands of other unhappy people out there, have been searching the internet for a solution and I have it! Until last night, I had tried drywall anchors, wedge anchors, and well nuts and out of these 3 solutions offered by others, the only solution that came close was using large drywall anchors; however, this only held tight for a couple of weeks before becoming loose. I was so happy to finally find a solution that worked that I felt as though it was my obligation to share it with all of the frustrated customers out there, so if you would like to finally fix this problem for good follow these steps:

Materials Needed:
- Drill
- Rubber Mallet (Hammer works, but use caution)
- 3/8" Carbide Drill Bit (glass/tile bit)
- Insert Nuts 1/4" X 20 (2X)
- 1/4" X 20 Screws (2X)
- Washers (2X)

Step 1
Remove existing seat. If screw is just spinning, cut the existing screw/bolt with a hack saw. An easier way to cut the existing screw is with a Dremel multi-tool and metal cutoff wheel. Once cut, the screw should fall down into the tank. Drill out the existing Kohler molly nut.

Step 2
The existing toilet seat anchor holes must be enlarged slightly, which is done by using a 3/8" Carbide Drill bit. Slowly drill the hole letting the bit do the work. Applying too much pressure can cause a crack in the porcelain.

Carbide Drill Bits - Tile.jpg

Step 3
Once holes have been made slightly larger, use a rubber mallet to tap in a 1/4" X 20 Insert Nut into the toilet anchor hole until flush. A regular hammer can be used as well, but be VERY careful not to miss and hit the toilet. Use a lot of small "taps" rather than trying to hammer with a lot of force. Slowly but surely the nut will make its way securely into the hole. Repeat this step on the other anchor hole.

Kohler Toilet Seat Repair 2.jpg
Kohler Toilet Seat Repair 3.jpg

Step 4
Place toilet seat over holes and secure new toilet seat to the toilet with washers and 1/4" X 20 X 2" screws.

Kohler Toilet Seat Repair.jpg

DONE!
 

BigCrazy

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Until yesterday evening I was in the same "seat" as all of you that have been trying to find a solution for replacing the toilet seat on a 1-piece Kohler Toilet. Just out of sheer frustration and my unwillingness to pay $46.00 to Kohler for their "kit," I began my quest to figure out a simple, cheap way to solve this problem. I, along with thousands of other unhappy people out there, have been searching the internet for a solution and I have it! Until last night, I had tried drywall anchors, wedge anchors, and well nuts and out of these 3 solutions offered by others, the only solution that came close was using large drywall anchors; however, this only held tight for a couple of weeks before becoming loose. I was so happy to finally find a solution that worked that I felt as though it was my obligation to share it with all of the frustrated customers out there, so if you would like to finally fix this problem for good follow these steps:

Materials Needed:
- Drill
- Rubber Mallet (Hammer works, but use caution)
- 3/8" Carbide Drill Bit (glass/tile bit)
- Insert Nuts 1/4" X 20 (2X)
- 1/4" X 20 Screws (2X)
- Washers (2X)

Step 1
Remove existing seat. If screw is just spinning, cut the existing screw/bolt with a hack saw. An easier way to cut the existing screw is with a Dremel multi-tool and metal cutoff wheel. Once cut, the screw should fall down into the tank. Drill out the existing Kohler molly nut.

Step 2
The existing toilet seat anchor holes must be enlarged slightly, which is done by using a 3/8" Carbide Drill bit. Slowly drill the hole letting the bit do the work. Applying too much pressure can cause a crack in the porcelain.

View attachment 35119

Step 3
Once holes have been made slightly larger, use a rubber mallet to tap in a 1/4" X 20 Insert Nut into the toilet anchor hole until flush. A regular hammer can be used as well, but be VERY careful not to miss and hit the toilet. Use a lot of small "taps" rather than trying to hammer with a lot of force. Slowly but surely the nut will make its way securely into the hole. Repeat this step on the other anchor hole.

View attachment 35121
View attachment 35122

Step 4
Place toilet seat over holes and secure new toilet seat to the toilet with washers and 1/4" X 20 X 2" screws.

View attachment 35120

DONE!
Holy Crap.......this is the solution to this stupid kohler one piece toilet, seat replacement problem. Thanks so much for taking the time to post this Evan. I followed your intstructions exactly and it worked great. I found the holes in the toilet to already be 3/8 and did very little drilling with a glass and tile bit to just clean them up. The rubber mallet got the insert screws almost flush but then used a hammer carefully to get them totally flush. Just did this yesterday, so I can't comment on how long this fix will last but can't see why it wouldn't last FOREVER, including changing the seat out again with ease if ever needed. I also sprayed some white lithium grease on the bolts before inserting to help avoid them becoming siezed or corroded. Thanks again!
 

Pops289

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I had the same problem as everyone else, but I liked Alan Mayer's solution. The rubber part we both used is also known as a "well nut" or a "rubber nut". Getting the old expansion nuts out was hard, though, and I don't think the Kohler tool would have helped. One of the screws came out okay, and so I just drilled out the old jack nut. The other one twisted off the threaded end of the nut, so it was stuck in the hole. I used an old-fashioned nail puller with a sliding weight to pop it out. I cleaned out the holes with a 3/8 drill bit (it fit without cutting into the porcelain), then used well nuts that fit snugly in the holes and stainless screws long enough to work (sorry I don't remember the dimensions). Now that I've done it and it works, I have to say I like the design of the toilet because it captures the seat firmly without the awkward through-hole, I just wish Kohler had originally used rubber well nuts instead of aluminum jack nuts.
 

brucehorse

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While the last post was a couple of years ago, this thread was helpful as I had to replace a seat on the Kohler 3434. Ultimately I used the advice of prying out the old screws and anchors and then bought this set off Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/666359405/kohler-toilet-seat-blind-anchor-nuts
He sells this simple rubber expansion nut version for $10 - which I used and worked perfectly for me, and he also has a metal version for $20.
A bit more expensive than buying the parts yourself - but you can be confident they are correct and the directions are straightforward. He shipped it the day I ordered and I received 2 days later.
 

RialtoSlayer

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Sorry for the late reply but I wanted to comment as I had searched extensively on the internet to find a solution to replacing the toilet seat on this horrible toilet. I came across bposert's fix and gave that a try but found the drywall anchors didn't quite work. The screw would go in so far then just spin freely. Also the screw holes in the porcelain were two different sizes. When I tried the drywall anchors I had to use a #12 on the right and a #10 on the left. What did work was using the parts mentioned in this youtube video. Because we don't have a dremel or drill bits that would be able to drill out the anchors we just removed them by force. The expansion nut and screw mentioned in the video fit perfectly and took 5 mins to complete. We didn't use the toilet seat the guy in the video used because it needed an adapter. If you go to the hardware store many of the Kohler seats have small spacing for just a screw. We bought a cheap-o seat for $13 that had the small holes (photo below).

I used a hacksaw blade to weaken the hinge area on both sides, then was able to break the main part of the (plastic) seat away. The screw on the right side came out about 1/2" on its own then got stuck. The left screw wouldn't turn at all and I partially stripped it trying to force it to budge. I removed all the remaining plastic by breaking off pieces with channel locks, cutting with a hacksaw, and getting the final remaining bits with an x-acto knife which worked surprisingly well on the plastic. One there was a little gap under the washer and screw on the left, I sprayed some more WD-40 on the screw and was able to push the washer down and grab the screwhead with channel locks and turn the screw partway out. I used a small flat-head screwdriver to go around the anchor part on both sides and lever it up a bit then was able to use the back of a claw hammer to get it out a bit more. Then I could grab it with the channel locks and pull everything straight out.

Old screws and anchors after removal:
IMG_20230430_094531070~2.jpg


Hardware used for mounting and screws (home depot):
IMG_20230430_094624914~2.jpg
IMG_20230430_095102130~2.jpg


Toilet seat used that did not require an adapter (lowes):
IMG_20230430_094909048 (Small).jpg
 
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