I just wrote this for another thread re: how to wreck a mansfield 35 but thought I'd post it in a new one with Fluidmaster and Compatibilty and Mansfield No. 35 in the thread title for someone searching this specific info.
I have the Mansfiled No. 35. I bought the fluidmaster A400AKR – Universal All-in-One Complete Toilet Repair kit at Home Depot…about $20. I did all 3 toilets in the house. (note the kit only comes with 2 tank bolts these toilets need 3 tank bolts plus the washers and nuts). The first replacement had a steady drip on the back tank bolt. I took the tank off, inspected, and reinstalled 3 times all the same result. It seemed like I could not get enough clamping pressure on the tank bolts because the Tank-to-Bowl (red/pink) squishy gasket is to “compressible”. It is a foam piece and after cranking everything down until porcelain tank bottom was meeting porcelain bowl fixture I still had a very slow leak/drip. I was worried about cracking the porcelain if I tried to tighten the nuts any tighter and I was also concerned about the thin nuts that hold the tank bolts in place before you put the tank onto the bowl, contacting the porcelain and resulting in a cracked tank/bowel when clamping down the tank and bowel together. The directions with the fluidmaster tell you to do it this way…use the extra “thin” nut included to attach tank bolts to tank bottom. The other issue as pointed out by Peterson (4 posts above mine) is the large plastic locknut that clamps the flush valve to the tank from the bottom surface. Unlike other locknuts that just have some raised ridges for your wrench to grip, this lock nut has 6 or 8 sides to it. The result is far less surface area against the shelf/ridge in the tank to bowel gasket. A better design would have a smooth, continuous surface (on the same plane) for this nut matting up with the smooth continuous groove surface inside the gasket. I think this would give a better seal and reduce the total compression of the gasket since the force would be evenly spread out.
I took apart my job and removed the extra (thin) nuts and washers to reduce the possibility of interference when clamping things down. I bought a “Flush valve Seal” for Mansfield – fits 210 and 211 – SKU 1000 055 028 at Home Depot < $2 each. It fits perfectly inside the Tank to Toilet Red/Pink Gasket. So this seal is now between the gasket and the plastic nut. It is pretty thin rubber but I thought it might be stiff enough to help distribute the pressure a little more evenly between the (star points) of the nut and gasket and it added about 1/8th to 1/16th of an inch in total thickness to the gasket. That did the trick for me. I still had to tighten all 3 bolts down until the tank was just contacting the bowel but it was enough to give me a seal with no drips. If I was to do it again I think I would stack two of this seals in this spot instead of just one.
Make sure when placing the tank (with gasket attached) into the bowel to come down as straight (plumb) as possible so the gasket is not angled or so there is not more gasket material on one side or another.
If you are reading this because you have a leak your are probably already past this next hurdle but if you have not started the job and your 28 year old Mansfield No. 35 has never had the tank off the bowel (or any toilet for that matter), the tank bolts may be very rusted. The slot screw heads flaked off immediately when I tried to loosen them with wrench and screw driver. I used CLR and PB Blaster in an attempt to loosen the corrosion but it did not work on the nuts. I had to cut all 9 tank bolts off (3 toilets). I used a 4” angle grinder for the side nuts on two of the toilets but it was too big to get to the back nut that is close to the back wall. For this I needed an oscillating saw with titanium metal cutting blade…it took a little longer than thegrinder but did the job. If you have to go out a buy a cutting tool just get the oscillating saw, it will handle all the bolts. Also beware, when you finish the cut and the metal parts (bolt and washer) drop off, they are hot and will burn/melt the vinyl floor or carpet fibers that they land on. Have some cardboard or an old bath towel in the drop zone to catch these hot pieces. Or go low tech and low cost and use a hack saw blade to cut them off. I had the power tools so I used them.
Good luck with your job. If I wasn’t selling this house I would have just bought 3 new water efficient toilets with the tank innards already installed. One of my toilets in the master bedroom is in an enclosed space no larger than a broom closet. There was 6” of space between the toilet seat and the wall on each side. There was no room to get cutting tools in place for this one much less my head to see what I was doing. I had to remove the whole toilet in one piece. Then in the bedroom separate the parts, install new innards, fill the tank to test for leaks, tighten things down some more, then drain the tank with syphon into the tub, then gently tilt the tank without disturbing the water tight tension between tank and bowel in order to install new wax ring. In the end it all worked out but it was time consuming and frustrating. All my home repairs are like this. I think something will take me 2 hours and it usually takes 6 with multiple trips to the hardware store. I guess that’s why the pros (plumbers) earn those big bucks, they do it quicker and get it right the first time
I have the Mansfiled No. 35. I bought the fluidmaster A400AKR – Universal All-in-One Complete Toilet Repair kit at Home Depot…about $20. I did all 3 toilets in the house. (note the kit only comes with 2 tank bolts these toilets need 3 tank bolts plus the washers and nuts). The first replacement had a steady drip on the back tank bolt. I took the tank off, inspected, and reinstalled 3 times all the same result. It seemed like I could not get enough clamping pressure on the tank bolts because the Tank-to-Bowl (red/pink) squishy gasket is to “compressible”. It is a foam piece and after cranking everything down until porcelain tank bottom was meeting porcelain bowl fixture I still had a very slow leak/drip. I was worried about cracking the porcelain if I tried to tighten the nuts any tighter and I was also concerned about the thin nuts that hold the tank bolts in place before you put the tank onto the bowl, contacting the porcelain and resulting in a cracked tank/bowel when clamping down the tank and bowel together. The directions with the fluidmaster tell you to do it this way…use the extra “thin” nut included to attach tank bolts to tank bottom. The other issue as pointed out by Peterson (4 posts above mine) is the large plastic locknut that clamps the flush valve to the tank from the bottom surface. Unlike other locknuts that just have some raised ridges for your wrench to grip, this lock nut has 6 or 8 sides to it. The result is far less surface area against the shelf/ridge in the tank to bowel gasket. A better design would have a smooth, continuous surface (on the same plane) for this nut matting up with the smooth continuous groove surface inside the gasket. I think this would give a better seal and reduce the total compression of the gasket since the force would be evenly spread out.
I took apart my job and removed the extra (thin) nuts and washers to reduce the possibility of interference when clamping things down. I bought a “Flush valve Seal” for Mansfield – fits 210 and 211 – SKU 1000 055 028 at Home Depot < $2 each. It fits perfectly inside the Tank to Toilet Red/Pink Gasket. So this seal is now between the gasket and the plastic nut. It is pretty thin rubber but I thought it might be stiff enough to help distribute the pressure a little more evenly between the (star points) of the nut and gasket and it added about 1/8th to 1/16th of an inch in total thickness to the gasket. That did the trick for me. I still had to tighten all 3 bolts down until the tank was just contacting the bowel but it was enough to give me a seal with no drips. If I was to do it again I think I would stack two of this seals in this spot instead of just one.
Make sure when placing the tank (with gasket attached) into the bowel to come down as straight (plumb) as possible so the gasket is not angled or so there is not more gasket material on one side or another.
If you are reading this because you have a leak your are probably already past this next hurdle but if you have not started the job and your 28 year old Mansfield No. 35 has never had the tank off the bowel (or any toilet for that matter), the tank bolts may be very rusted. The slot screw heads flaked off immediately when I tried to loosen them with wrench and screw driver. I used CLR and PB Blaster in an attempt to loosen the corrosion but it did not work on the nuts. I had to cut all 9 tank bolts off (3 toilets). I used a 4” angle grinder for the side nuts on two of the toilets but it was too big to get to the back nut that is close to the back wall. For this I needed an oscillating saw with titanium metal cutting blade…it took a little longer than thegrinder but did the job. If you have to go out a buy a cutting tool just get the oscillating saw, it will handle all the bolts. Also beware, when you finish the cut and the metal parts (bolt and washer) drop off, they are hot and will burn/melt the vinyl floor or carpet fibers that they land on. Have some cardboard or an old bath towel in the drop zone to catch these hot pieces. Or go low tech and low cost and use a hack saw blade to cut them off. I had the power tools so I used them.
Good luck with your job. If I wasn’t selling this house I would have just bought 3 new water efficient toilets with the tank innards already installed. One of my toilets in the master bedroom is in an enclosed space no larger than a broom closet. There was 6” of space between the toilet seat and the wall on each side. There was no room to get cutting tools in place for this one much less my head to see what I was doing. I had to remove the whole toilet in one piece. Then in the bedroom separate the parts, install new innards, fill the tank to test for leaks, tighten things down some more, then drain the tank with syphon into the tub, then gently tilt the tank without disturbing the water tight tension between tank and bowel in order to install new wax ring. In the end it all worked out but it was time consuming and frustrating. All my home repairs are like this. I think something will take me 2 hours and it usually takes 6 with multiple trips to the hardware store. I guess that’s why the pros (plumbers) earn those big bucks, they do it quicker and get it right the first time
