Toto Drake 1.28 GPF ST743 is running

Users who are viewing this thread

Marguerite

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
California
I have a 4 year old Toto Drake 1.28 GPF ST743.
I works fine except that after flushing I continue to hear a slight water running sound.
Upon looking into the tank it appears that the water is very near the top of the white tube where it goes down and then into the bowl.
I have taken out the flapper and cleaned it and its seat with a no scratch pad.
That did not fix the problem.
What else can I do.
I have never fixed a toilet before, so I don't even know the right terms for the parts.
But I want to try and fix it before calling an expensive plumber.
Thanks!
 

WJcandee

Wise One
Messages
3,181
Reaction score
170
Points
63
Location
New York, NY
If the water isn't actually going DOWN that white tube and continuing to run (i.e. overflowing into the white overflow riser or tube), then the water level setting is probably okay.

If the black tube is above the top of that white tube, and not shoved down the white tube, then that's okay. If the black tube is shoved into the white tube rather than being on a clip above it, that's a common cause of a teensy bit of water running out the fill valve. It creates a siphon and pulls water from the tank through the fill valve; hence the little clip to hold it above the top of the overflow riser.

I should say that it's kind of normal for a few seconds after the bowl has refilled and the tank shut off to hear a little water dribbling out of the bowl. Not unusual at all. But if it's dribbling out of the tank into the bowl more than a minute after the water has shut off, and is enough to cause the toilet to turn on on its own and fill the tank, then it's most likely that you need a new flapper.

The easiest way to tell is this. Turn off the water to the toilet at that little knob on the wall. Mark the water level with a pencil on the tank. Won't hurt it. Wait an hour or two or three. Come back to the toilet. Has the water level dropped a material amount? If so, then you probably need a new flapper. Go get yourself the Korky 3060BP adjustable 3" flapper at Home Depot or Lowe's and follow the instructions. Or order a Toto THU347S flapper online (NY Replacement Parts has it online for like $8 plus shipping. That one you won't have to adjust. (The THU347S flapper is the right one for your Eco-Drake.)

If the water level DOESN'T drop when you leave the tank with the water off, and you hear a little flow from the fill valve, perhaps enough that it's starting to pour over the top of the overflow riser, then it's a fill valve issue. Easy enough to repair that. Even total amateurs can do it. The proper fill valve can be purchased at Lowe's (Korky 528MP or 528MPK with the silver cap; the white cap regular 528 one won't fill your bowl enough) for like $11. If you get to that stage, then come back and we will walk you through how to install it. It will take you at most 15 minutes, basically with no tools. My Mom could do it. If you currently have the Korky fill valve in your toilet (the so-called Type B Valve in this piece: http://www.bayplumbingsupply.com/images/documents/voretolavallefillvalveinstructions-rev06-1.pdf), then you can repair it by changing a little cap inside it which is available for like $4 at Home Depot. That's an even easier repair.

Anyway, let us know how that first test goes, with the line and turning off the water, and we'll take it from there.

PS So you can sound like a real pro, here's the actual model number for your toilet: the number you gave us (the number in the tank) is the model number of the tank. Toto model numbers for a two piece toilet are a mashup of the tank number and the bowl number.

So, if you have an elongated Eco-Drake, then you have tank ST743E and bowl C744E (or EG if you have CEFIONTECT as well), for a toilet that is CST744E or EG.

If you have a round Eco-Drake, then you still have tank ST743E, but you have bowl C743E, for a toilet number that is CST743E.

There are some other permutations of the numbers based on options like which side the handle is, but those are the basics.
 
Last edited:

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,770
Reaction score
1,190
Points
113
Location
New England
If the water is slowly rising over the top of the overflow, it's probably the cap seal (Toto tends to use one of two fill valves, one is repairable and has the internal inexpensive seal you can replace, the other needs to be replace in its entirety). Neither is hard, and parts are readily available and inexpensive at a plumbing supply house, many hardware stores, and Lowes (but maybe not at HD for one of the recommended replacements).
 

Marguerite

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
California
Toto Eco-Drake replacement flapper ordered

Thank you to Mr. Candee for the complete reply to my Toto running toilet issues. I have ordered a new flapper and will post back on the forum if that fixed my leaking/running toilet. Thank you for all replies with help! And to Terry Love for running this forum!

If the water isn't actually going DOWN that white tube and continuing to run (i.e. overflowing into the white overflow riser or tube), then the water level setting is probably okay.

If the black tube is above the top of that white tube, and not shoved down the white tube, then that's okay. If the black tube is shoved into the white tube rather than being on a clip above it, that's a common cause of a teensy bit of water running out the fill valve. It creates a siphon and pulls water from the tank through the fill valve; hence the little clip to hold it above the top of the overflow riser.

I should say that it's kind of normal for a few seconds after the bowl has refilled and the tank shut off to hear a little water dribbling out of the bowl. Not unusual at all. But if it's dribbling out of the tank into the bowl more than a minute after the water has shut off, and is enough to cause the toilet to turn on on its own and fill the tank, then it's most likely that you need a new flapper.

The easiest way to tell is this. Turn off the water to the toilet at that little knob on the wall. Mark the water level with a pencil on the tank. Won't hurt it. Wait an hour or two or three. Come back to the toilet. Has the water level dropped a material amount? If so, then you probably need a new flapper. Go get yourself the Korky 3060BP adjustable 3" flapper at Home Depot or Lowe's and follow the instructions. Or order a Toto THU347S flapper online (NY Replacement Parts has it online for like $8 plus shipping. That one you won't have to adjust. (The THU347S flapper is the right one for your Eco-Drake.)

If the water level DOESN'T drop when you leave the tank with the water off, and you hear a little flow from the fill valve, perhaps enough that it's starting to pour over the top of the overflow riser, then it's a fill valve issue. Easy enough to repair that. Even total amateurs can do it. The proper fill valve can be purchased at Lowe's (Korky 528MP or 528MPK with the silver cap; the white cap regular 528 one won't fill your bowl enough) for like $11. If you get to that stage, then come back and we will walk you through how to install it. It will take you at most 15 minutes, basically with no tools. My Mom could do it. If you currently have the Korky fill valve in your toilet (the so-called Type B Valve in this piece: http://www.bayplumbingsupply.com/images/documents/voretolavallefillvalveinstructions-rev06-1.pdf), then you can repair it by changing a little cap inside it which is available for like $4 at Home Depot. That's an even easier repair.

Anyway, let us know how that first test goes, with the line and turning off the water, and we'll take it from there.

PS So you can sound like a real pro, here's the actual model number for your toilet: the number you gave us (the number in the tank) is the model number of the tank. Toto model numbers for a two piece toilet are a mashup of the tank number and the bowl number.

So, if you have an elongated Eco-Drake, then you have tank ST743E and bowl C744E (or EG if you have CEFIONTECT as well), for a toilet that is CST744E or EG.

If you have a round Eco-Drake, then you still have tank ST743E, but you have bowl C743E, for a toilet number that is CST743E.

There are some other permutations of the numbers based on options like which side the handle is, but those are the basics.
 

Gary Swart

In the Trades
Messages
8,101
Reaction score
84
Points
48
Location
Yakima, WA
FYI, replacement flappers for Toto toilets are stocked at Lowe's and other hardware stores. Special ordering is not necessary. Availability of inexpensive replacement parts is one of the positive features of Toto.
 

WJcandee

Wise One
Messages
3,181
Reaction score
170
Points
63
Location
New York, NY
FYI, replacement flappers for Toto toilets are stocked at Lowe's and other hardware stores. Special ordering is not necessary. Availability of inexpensive replacement parts is one of the positive features of Toto.

The Korky "Fits Toto" red flapper isn't the right one for this toilet. The Korky 3060BP large adjustable 3" one is, and she couldn't find it at her local Lowe's. So she ordered the correct Toto one (the current one for that toilet), which is THU347S.

By the way, there's a table that Toto made which shows which tanks go with their current PVC flappers. What is more interesting to me is the section of the table showing the tanks that go with the THU175S flapper, which is the Korky "Fits Toto" flapper. Lowe's doesn't stock that flapper anymore (and HD has it -- No. 2021CM in their nomenclature -- in some stores but not others); it is still available in a lot of local hardware stores, often for less money than the 3060BP adjustable flapper. So for any tank in this table that lines up with the THU175S, you can use the red Korky "Fits Toto" flapper in that toilet, because it is exactly the same thing. (I also have a spreadsheet showing all the replacement parts for each toilet, but this table is easier when picking flappers.)

Here's the table I'm talking about: http://western-sales.com/mpu/jun12mpu/TOTO Flapper Conversion Table.pdf
 
Last edited:

Marguerite

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
California
I have finally been able to fix my running toilet issue, thanks to Mr. Candee.
I purchased the flapper that he recommended.
(NY Replacement Parts has it online for like $8 plus shipping. That one you won't have to adjust. (The THU347S flapper is the right one for your Eco-Drake.)
But I still had running/leaking water.
I then purchased at ACE Hardware the Korky MaxPerformance Quiet Fill Valve 528MP, installed it very easily with Mr. Candee's coaching and the included instructions. I barely had to make any adjustments and I'm good to go!
This forum was very helpful, especially Mr. Candee for his time in the clear and concise responses.


Thank you to Mr. Candee for the complete reply to my Toto running toilet issues. I have ordered a new flapper and will post back on the forum if that fixed my leaking/running toilet. Thank you for all replies with help! And to Terry Love for running this forum!
 

WJcandee

Wise One
Messages
3,181
Reaction score
170
Points
63
Location
New York, NY
Oh, I'm blushing. It was an absolute blast helping you with the project. And I am so glad that you got it fixed and have that feeling of accomplishment that we all get when we learn to do something new. Thanks for being a great, willing student!!

Congratulations!!!
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks