Universal Rundle Atlas part

Face155

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Orlando FL
I just recently did a remodel of bathroom, replaced everything to and even past studs. The toilet in there has always worked well, and I knew with some cleaning it was worth keeping. From what I can tell it's a Universal Rundle Atlas based on the number inside tank of 4471, and made in 98. Well upon removing it, I kept every little thing for reinstall. Upon reinstall, the plumber noted I am missing some spacers specific to that toilet. I think there are supposed to be 3-4, and I have only 2. When I removed it those two weren't even in the correct location, and now open reinstall, there is a slow leak because I can't really tighten tank down.
These rubber spacers are bracket shaped, like this: [, and sit on two rims that run the width of the back of bowl where tank sits. The spacers sit on the lips with the open side facing down, and allow you to tighten tank down and balance the tank on more than just the center middle gasket (the main one). Without them, the tank end ups teetering, and you will hear the lovely sound of porcelain rubbing porcelain.

Please help, I don't even know the name of these spacers, much less no one seems to carry UR parts in my area (as they were bought out so all models seem to be discontinued). If someone can point me to a name, a parts diagram that lists them, or even where I can purchase them, I would be ecstatic. I also don't want to "make something work", I really want to do it right. The previous home owners here probably would have stuffed cardboard to fix it, which that mindset is exactly why I had to spend 3 months remodeling bathroom.

Thanks
 
This may be the time to consider upgrading to a modern low flow toilet. Repairing a 12 year old toilet whose manufacturer has gone out of business doesn't seem to make much sense to me. A Toto Drake would be an excellent choice.
 
You might be able to buy some sheet neoprene rubber, and cut your own.
 
Yes, a Toto Drake would be my first option if I wanted to replace it, but being the toilet works great, and still looks great (with a little cleaning it took), I don't see it wise nor environmentally sound to toss a whole toilet and spend another $250-300 (on top of the thousands I've spent remodeling the bathroom putting me behind the financial ball) for what amounts to trouble with a .50 part. The toilet also has great reviews/recommendations, looking like it was best at it's price point for quite some years.

I looked into the rubber thing, best I could find was pipe insulation (foam and rubberized foam) and those didn't seem ideal, as they had way more give than the intended rubber ones, and certainly would be hard to hide at the front portion. A store worker told me to take a main gasket about the same height as one installed and put those to each side (even cut in half), but I didn't find that ideal either.

I can't imagine with all the rundle atlas toilets out there, and having been installed by someone, that a person here can't point me to a manufacturer name for the part, part number, or even someone that stocks it.
 
One some consumer products, manufacturers are required to keep parts for 10-years...yours is nearly 20, and the company is out of business...most people don't take the thing apart, so there's little call for replacing that part. Gasket material can be bought in sheets, and cut your own. Or find some other material and fabricate it from that. Most toilets are designed to have the tank make intimate contact with the bowl. Not tight enough to put pressure on the porcelain-to-porcelain so it might crack, but essentially touching. If yours specifically is designed to need a gasket in between, guess you'll have to make one...
 
Well, 12 years for my specific toilet, I wouldn't round that to 20. Older, but not an antique or rare toilet.
Thanks for the link, but I didn't see the part there, even with a wider search of all UR parts.

Well if anyone happens to be familiar with the part I'm describing, please chime in, a specific name for the part is a great lead. Better yet, anyone tossing their UR Atlas toilet that has those parts, I'll send you $10 for them. They are small enough to stuff in an envelope!
 
Last edited:
Those "brackets" are to stabilize the tank, and have NOTHING to do with tightening the tank. I usually toss them away because they are a nuisance. But if you have two, that is all you really need.
 
Interesting. I was at my parent's house today, and realized they also had UR Atlas toilets (in fact, even same series run). Excitedly, I looked under their tank to discover they had not one of those rubber brackets. So I started to wonder if the plumber that installed was incorrect, that I didn't need those at all (they honestly don't even fit well on the rim, falling off if you don't place tank VERY VERY carefully, and it seemed odd I only had 2, placed in the direct middle upside down not even near a rim). I began wondering if it was merely for packing/shipping...??? I was about to update here, and try a direct fit without them like Jadnashua had mentioned, and now I have someone familiar with it confirm it's ok.

I'm assuming you say it's a nuisance because they fall over and move out of the way during install like I've already encountered (one even fell immediately into the flush hole in the bowl, very annoying).

Thanks for the input everyone.
 
Put a piece of paper on each side, tighten the tank bolts until you start to get friction when trying to remove the paper, then stop. That's a few thousandths of an inch...close enough to not move much, but not tight enough to damage anything. Tighten evenly, side-to-side a little bit at a time. It's easier if you can press down on the tank some, but not a big deal if you can't. Slowly, and evenly...
 
Back
Top