Case 3000 toilet issues

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Jgad60

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I have two 50 year old Case 3000s in a seldom used vacation home which recently started leaking. One started leaking a little bit a few years ago which manifested in a little water leaking onto the floor below the toilet and when I crawled into the crawl space I found moisture and a few drips where the drain pipe came through the sub floor. I figured it must be a dried up/leaking seal when the water leaves the toilet. I planned to find and order a new gasket and replace it but had not done so yet. We just used the other toilet.

This is an old beach house my wife's grandparents built in 1964. She and her sister inherited it but don't use it much. Every time we go I end up involved in major maintenance or repair which for the most part I enjoy. No one had used it in five months. Water supply was shut off. This past weekend we went and were using the "good" toilet. It started trickling water onto the floor so I crawled under the house and found a substantial leak. It was dripping heavily and eater had migrated at least 10 feet in every direction as seen by freshly wet underside of the sub floor. (No insulation, 2 x 6 t&g sub floor.) It was not a supply side leak. Had my wife shut off the supply line to the toilet but the heavy dripping continued. Had her flush the toilet with the supply shut off. No increased leakage when the toilet drained but the dripping immediately reduced. A lot of water had migrated and was presumably being stored in and around the sub floor so I don't know how much of the dripping was from that. Bathroom has tile floor, no visible water coming up through it. Next day dripping had stopped and heavy moisture was reduced to residual wetness.

It gets better... We went back to using toilet #2 and it seemed to work OK with the expected leaking onto the floor but after a few uses it failed to clear the bowl and then nearly over flowed. Removal of the tank lid revealed that the tank was not filling although water was coming out to some extent. after plunging the bowl I filled the tank with a bucket and flushed. Worked fine but would not refill the tank. Very minor leaking into the crawl space. We shut off all the water, locked it up and left. I did not take either one off the wall yet.

Obviously there is an age issue. Might there also be an issue with lack of regular use. Toilet #1, which was leaking so much appears to be draining from the tank even when not flushing. As far as I can tell the only place they could be leaking is at the union between the toilet and the drain. Is there some kind of wax ring? Unless the porcelain is cracked it seems it must be a seal. Is it strange that the two leaks are different? I see a rebuild kit available online but I am hesitant since the internal workings have nothing to do with leaking.

Does anyone have similar experiences with these toilets. Any suggestions/thoughts on causes, repairs, plan of attack, etc. are appreciated.

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WJcandee

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First, regarding when it "nearly overflowed". One advantage of these guys is that they can't overflow. So they are well-suited for a vacation home.

These things are wonderful toilets that you should probably hold onto while they only require minimal repair. The complete rebuild is very expensive and probably usually-unnecessary.

Sounds like you need a new neoprene seal between the toilet and the wall to prevent leaking while flushing each toilet. And it sounds like it's time to change the "tank ball" (which now has a different shape than a "ball"). It's the thing that plugs the hole of the flush valve, and is lifted by and attached to a little guide wire. Any Briggs dealer will have Part Number 5169 replacement Case/Briggs tank ball. Also available online. Also, you can just Google "Korky Tank Ball, Fit All, 424BP." That Korky model will also work fine. It just attaches to the end of the guide wire.

You need a neoprene seal for the space between the toilet horn and the wall flange. Zurn makes a regular one and an extra-thick one, based on the size of the gap. In theory, it's not necessary to use glue, but some of these seals recommend that you get a little tube and it's common to put a thin bead on both sides to hold the thing in place while you compress it.

I have also seen where many folks have said they used the Sani-Seal on their wall-mount or rear-discharge toilets with good results, but I will leave it to the real plumbers on here to comment on the suitability of doing so.

Most likely, although certainly not assuredly, you just need a new tank ball and wall gasket in each toilet and your problems should be solved.

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