Hello all!
This is my first post on this site, thanks in advance for all help provided. I am very new when it comes to toilet removal, so I hope my pictures clear up my confusion on part names!
My toilet was rocking recently, so I found online that I should tighten the two bolts that secure the toilet to the ground. I removed the plastic caps from each bolt, and had a different problem with each side. When facing the toilet, on the left side, the cap removed easily and pulled out half of the bolt I was supposed to tighten, with the bolt head stuck in between the plastic cap and an inner plastic "cap protector?" (the remains of this bolt in pictures 1 and 2 the red circles bolt on the left). When facing the toilet, on the right side, the plastic cap was not secured at all, and had no inner "cap protector". When I just lifted this cap off, the bolt head was severely rusted and would not budge - nor could I fit a wrench around it... After significant WD-40 and a lot of scraping off of the grime, I was able to fit a wrench around the bolt head, only to discover that the bolt continually turns in circles freely, but does not unscrew (nor tighten). You can see this bolt in pictures 1 and 2 with the red circle on the right. I was able to get the toilet up and over this bolt by lifting it at an angle to get over the bolt head. Having only seen a flange before in pictures while researching this problem, I found something vaguely similar. The flange is visible in all pictures, and is after much scraping and cleaning. I am no expert on anything with metals, pipes, or plumbing, but it seems that everything is very rusted. As I scraped away the remnants of the wax ring, it seemed as though pieces of metal were coming up with it! At this point, I can make out similar holes and slots that I see in flanges online. I was told by a guy at a hardware store (before lifting the toilet), that it was likely a broken flange. I thought I could examing the flange and see if parts of it were cracked, but I do not see anything wrong with the flange (other than it being severely rusted, which may be cause for replacement?).
Anyways, where I stand now is asking for advice on what to do. I guess first would be 1.) how to remove these screws from the flange. From what I had read online, I thought the were designed to just slide out to the side... From what I can tell, each screw is in a round hole, with no opening on the side to slide the screws out. Additionally, the remaining part of the screw on the left does not budge at all (even with WD-40, and trying my hardest to get a good grip on it with pliers). The full screw on the right just keeps turning and does not pull out at all (horribly reminiscent of my stripped drain plug on my motorcycle a while back...). I figure these screws will need to be replaced at the very least, so any advice there is helpful. 2.) If I get these screws out, is all I need new screws and a wax ring? Or should I be looking at removing the flange and installing a new one? I also do not see how this flange is secured to the floor. I do not see any holes or screws besides the two sticking out that secure the toilet to the flange. Could the flange be cemented or soldered to the floor? Or are the screws hidden?
Again thanks for all advice in advance. I know it is annoying in forums to have questions repeated, but I did search to see if there were similar issues, and nothing quite aligned, or at least in a manner I understood!
Pictures 1 and 2 have the screws/bolts that secure the toilet to the flange highlighted in red. I tried to highlight the holes/openings that looked similar to the flange pictures I saw online in blue. The remaining pictures are just different angles without highlighting to give better views. I am happy to post more pictures if needed.
This is my first post on this site, thanks in advance for all help provided. I am very new when it comes to toilet removal, so I hope my pictures clear up my confusion on part names!
My toilet was rocking recently, so I found online that I should tighten the two bolts that secure the toilet to the ground. I removed the plastic caps from each bolt, and had a different problem with each side. When facing the toilet, on the left side, the cap removed easily and pulled out half of the bolt I was supposed to tighten, with the bolt head stuck in between the plastic cap and an inner plastic "cap protector?" (the remains of this bolt in pictures 1 and 2 the red circles bolt on the left). When facing the toilet, on the right side, the plastic cap was not secured at all, and had no inner "cap protector". When I just lifted this cap off, the bolt head was severely rusted and would not budge - nor could I fit a wrench around it... After significant WD-40 and a lot of scraping off of the grime, I was able to fit a wrench around the bolt head, only to discover that the bolt continually turns in circles freely, but does not unscrew (nor tighten). You can see this bolt in pictures 1 and 2 with the red circle on the right. I was able to get the toilet up and over this bolt by lifting it at an angle to get over the bolt head. Having only seen a flange before in pictures while researching this problem, I found something vaguely similar. The flange is visible in all pictures, and is after much scraping and cleaning. I am no expert on anything with metals, pipes, or plumbing, but it seems that everything is very rusted. As I scraped away the remnants of the wax ring, it seemed as though pieces of metal were coming up with it! At this point, I can make out similar holes and slots that I see in flanges online. I was told by a guy at a hardware store (before lifting the toilet), that it was likely a broken flange. I thought I could examing the flange and see if parts of it were cracked, but I do not see anything wrong with the flange (other than it being severely rusted, which may be cause for replacement?).
Anyways, where I stand now is asking for advice on what to do. I guess first would be 1.) how to remove these screws from the flange. From what I had read online, I thought the were designed to just slide out to the side... From what I can tell, each screw is in a round hole, with no opening on the side to slide the screws out. Additionally, the remaining part of the screw on the left does not budge at all (even with WD-40, and trying my hardest to get a good grip on it with pliers). The full screw on the right just keeps turning and does not pull out at all (horribly reminiscent of my stripped drain plug on my motorcycle a while back...). I figure these screws will need to be replaced at the very least, so any advice there is helpful. 2.) If I get these screws out, is all I need new screws and a wax ring? Or should I be looking at removing the flange and installing a new one? I also do not see how this flange is secured to the floor. I do not see any holes or screws besides the two sticking out that secure the toilet to the flange. Could the flange be cemented or soldered to the floor? Or are the screws hidden?
Again thanks for all advice in advance. I know it is annoying in forums to have questions repeated, but I did search to see if there were similar issues, and nothing quite aligned, or at least in a manner I understood!
Pictures 1 and 2 have the screws/bolts that secure the toilet to the flange highlighted in red. I tried to highlight the holes/openings that looked similar to the flange pictures I saw online in blue. The remaining pictures are just different angles without highlighting to give better views. I am happy to post more pictures if needed.