Leaky toilet??

[sourdough]

I've read posts about leaky toilets, replacing etc. Maybe the answer to my dilemma was there but I missed it.

I have a Thetford 42072 ceramic toilet. Today I smelled a strong odor of urine in the bathroom. Went to check it out and there was a bit of what looked like seepage at the front and rear of the toilet on the floor. Cleaned it up but later still had the odor. Couldn't find what was going on so took a paper towel and ran around the little ledge between the bowl and pedestal. Whew! Now THERE was a smell!

We wipe down the toilet pedestal every few days but haven't ever (me) ran a rag into that crack. I've never (knock on wood) had an issue with a toilet. Is there a gasket/seal between the bowl and the pedestal (I would assume)? I pulled up the info on the toilet but found nothing. Has anyone had that problem? Resolved it? The toilet is sealed to floor fine. The top does rock more than it did when new. I've felt under the rim but couldn't find any screws/nuts/bolts etc that hold the 2 together that might be loose. Just wondering if there might me a simple remedy. If I have to pull it I'll put a new one in its place. Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

[chuckster57]

Going by memory, the ceramic bowl is attached to the plastic base with 2 screws. You have to access them from the back, and there is a seal that you can replace. Can’t find the P/N right off hand, sorry.

[sourdough]

Thanks Chuckster. I'll look again for the screws. I suspect that seal is the issue. I'll look into an easy way to take care of it. Thanks again.

[bobbecky]

It might be easier to remove the toilet to work on it. Just like a residential toilet, there are only two fasteners to undo, plus the water line. This is the manual for the toilet.

http://www.thetford.com/wp-content/u...c-Style-II.pdf

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

It might be easier to remove the toilet to work on it. Just like a residential toilet, there are only two fasteners to undo, plus the water line. This is the manual for the toilet.

http://www.thetford.com/wp-contetoil...c-Style-II.pdf

Thank you. I had looked at this but don't see anything that shows to be a seal between the bowl and pedestal. I've not seen anything in the other diagrams I've seen. I did read that if there was a leak the toilet could be really "fun" to try to clean. For $150, or whatever it is, I think I would just replace it. I did the "clean out the toilet because of a lost toy" for my daughter and granddaughter......once. I'd rather buy the new toilet. I believe.

[notanlines]

Danny, in the owner's manual (thanks Bob, by the way) how about the line under leaks; paragraph C, checking for correct height and Thetford spacers. Any chance you think the flange may have settle just a touch since it was new?
In edit: You might want to jump your price up by about a hundred or so for Thetford's Aqua-Magic.

[sourdough]

Thanks Jim. It doesn't appear that it has settled any appreciable amount. This is an Aqua Magic Style II High Profile toilet as best I can tell.

Chuckster your memory appears to be spot on. I searched and searched looking at the schematics and part breakdowns ASSUMING that there had to be 4 screws from the bottom side holding the top down. After looking and looking, poking my head (and DW's into parts unknown) I finally determined that 1) the four "attachment points" that I thought were screws appear to be plastic tabs that pop into the bowl, 2) the 2 screws that Chuckster mention seem to be what actually screw the top to the bottom, located at the back and 3) one of the screws was completely unscrewed and the other was very loose. Found these by running our hands over and over the thing trying to figure out how it was attached. None of the schematics I found show these screws.

Hopefully this will stop what appears to be a tiny leak that smells . I was hesitant to pull the toilet and try to work on it outside on the picnic table (figured the owner would run me off) and didn't want to do it inside after reading how nasty it could get on some other forums. Seemed a waste to buy another one if the loose screws are the only problem.

We're going to scrub it down, again, and see if things improve. If not I'll order another one, put it in and put the old one in the box and put it in the dumpster......hopefully they won't kick me out over that

Thanks for the thoughts, help and assistance. Maybe this will fix it up.

[travelin texans]

If you go to the trouble to remove it/replace it toss the Thetford & get the Dometic 310 or 320. My Thetford the foot pedal fell off & cost $60+/-, a new Dometic was about $100 more & twice the toilet, can be totally rebuilt for about $20-30 without removing if there's room around it.

[socalhd]

I went thru this exact same issue and researched just like you are doing. There is supposed to be a 2 year warranty on the toilet. But there is no replacement gasket. Requires new toilet. Some people have taken it apart and created their own gasket. Other than that, new toilet.