Ping! Heard after toilet install... are we in trouble??

Toto Eco Drake II ... the tank is supposed to contact the bowl in three points... the trouble we had was that the front made contact before the back... so assuming the gasket would compress until the back tightened down we kept tigthening. After we were done and removed the wrench we heard a Ping! Ping! sound that gave us a flash of fear that the tank or bowl was cracked. Upon inspection we didn't see anything... but I'm wondering if that sound does mean soemthing was compromised or is it "normal" and how should we approach making the same connection for the second toilet tomorrow? (We losened and retightened and didn't hear it again btw.)

One other thing... should we just hacksaw the closet flange bolts so they fit under the caps or is there a better way? (Seems likely to damage the threads... have a bolt cutter in my electrical kit but I think that can't handle 1/4".)

Thanks in advance!

Ping isn't good! Hard to tell without being there. The magic to getting the tank down properly is to do it slowly, a turn or so each side so it comes down evenly. It helps to jiggle it a little at the beginning when starting so it isn't leaning much towards the front or back (i.e., sitting straight up). I like to put a thick piece of paper under each side bump and stop when there is friction, but I can still pull it out without tearing. that's plenty close enough.

You can rap the tank with your knuckle and see if it sounds right.

You can hacksaw halfway through and then bend them off.
Or you can bend the bolt back and forth until it snaps at the nut.

TOTO Drake II in Seattle

If you EVER intend to remove the toilet, do NOT use a bolt cutter, do NOT cut it halfway and break it off, and do NOT bend it back and forth until it snaps, (unless it is one with "notches" along its length). Cut it all the way with a hacksaw. As for the ping, it could be anything, but whatever it was, it would probably NOT happen a second time, since the damage, if any, would already have occurred.

I don't use a wrench on tank bolts! I lean on the tank to compress the gasket, and spin the nut up by hand. Repeat this procedudure in gradual steps left and right.

So you are the guy who installs the toilets that start leaking from the bolts after a while. Did you also install the disposer I worked on Monday which came loose because the bolts were not tightened against the mounting flange?

Be sure to keep a close watch on the tank for several days. I had a hairline crack in the bottom of my tank once. I checked for leaks after filling it and saw nothing. Came back the next day to see a small puddle on the floor, but couldn't find any water drops anywhere on the toilet. Finally ended up putting a paper towel on the floor and checked it every 15 minutes or so. Sure enough I saw a drop on the towel, so I layed down and kept an eye on the tank and saw the next one sloooooowly form.

Some tanks have been known to bust many months after they were installed. I'm not saying any of them were Toto...

I always make sure the gasket is firmly up the threaded tail-piece and like to wet it prior to installing. I too, will push down on the tank and wiggle it a bit to take some of the strain off the bolts. Rather than crank on the nuts with a wrench, I turn the screw with a screwdriver which limits how much leverage one can apply.

As for hacksawing off the bolts, the little bit of burs it creates on the treads are nothing to worry about. The nut will chase the threads if/when the time comes to remove it. A bolt cutter could/would deform the threads much more.

Hate to say this, but if you had followed the instructions in the installation booklet, you would have known to tighten the bolts alternating from one to another, taking just a little slack each time and to keep the sides as even as possible. I use a 3/8" drive socket wrench, but I do not torque the daylights out the bolts. I also wiggle the tank and apply some body weight to help seat the tank into the gasket. I have had good luck in making all three points contact, but I have no quarrel with the idea of a piece of paper as a sort of feeler gauge. I can't say with certainty that the sound you heard was the tank cracking, but it very well could have been. As suggested above, watch carefully for a period of time to see if any moisture develops.

Gary Swart said:

Hate to say this, but if you had followed the instructions in the installation booklet, you would have known to tighten the bolts alternating from one to another, taking just a little slack each time...

Click to expand...

Gary we actually did read the instructions and did in fact tighten alternately and slowly... we also used a socket wrench as it seemed like an ordinary wrench would not give access... in any case the ping sound happened a few moments after we had finished... not while we were tightening... so I am hoping it was some sort of "settling" noise. So far no leaks, we'll keep an eye out though.

I think the mistake is that we let the tank cant toward the front so that those two points touched before the aft point.

Thanks for all the comments.

quote; Some tanks have been known to bust many months after they were installed

The old Cadet toilet tanks would break YEARS after they were installed.

Update: loose nuts?!

So the update on this is that the tank did not crack, apparently, as we do not see any leakage. However, I do have a concern and question regarding this installation.

The instructions call for putting the tank bolt inside tank through rubber washer and then outside tank a steel washer and nut. These are to be hand tightened and then 1/2 turn with a wrench, which we did. Then the tank is mounted and an additional steel washer and nut go to the toilet itself. The latter nuts are of course tightened until the "3-points of contact" are made.

What we are seeing, however, is that after the install the first set of nuts are no longer tight--not even hand-tight. They are loose. There is no leakage, presumably because the toilet nuts are exerting enough force on the bolts and rubber washers. So my question is: is this by design or why would the first set of nuts (1/2 turn tightened beyond hand tight) come loose?

If they need to be snug seems like we will have to dismount the tank and redo... I will be tempted to go beyond 1/2 turn next time around... what say you?

When you tightened the second nut, did you hold the head of the bold to keep it from turning? If the bolt turned, that would explain the first nut getting loose.

It's impossible to explain in writing how tight the nuts should be. You would either need a torque wrench with the proper setting, or experience from doing previous installs.

But here's where it gets simple. If it's loose, tighten it. We're talking easy and quick. It's not rocket science.
Or..........maybe it is.