Toilets are simple, why can't I figure this out??

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PorcelainWoes

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Hi from Colorado, I'm new here!
I have a home with 3 bathrooms, and one of the toilets has me very frustrated... About 80% of the time I flush it (the tank is all the way full), it will act like the siphon jet is plugged up, little to no water shoots out of it, instead most of the water comes out the holes in the upper rim of the bowl, and the resulting flush is VERY weak... definitely not enough for "number twos" to go down, so I haven't used that toilet for almost 1 year now.
The strange part is, back when I was still using the toilet, 20% of the time a flush will be perfectly NORMAL with plenty of siphon jet power.

I was told that the siphon jet must be clogged, but I really don't think that is the problem... 6 months ago I totally drained the toilet of water, temporarily plugged the siphon jet hole, poured muriatic acid into the inner workings of the bowl and let the acid sit there for 5 hours. When I unplugged the jet hole to drain the acid, there wasn't really any dissolved debris or scale to speak of. It should be noted that water DOES flow through the jet hole just fine when I manually pour a couple gallons of water into the tank filler tube.

Today I messed with it some more, and the frustration continues. Out of 10 full-tank flushes in a row, the first 6 flushes were full-power and the siphon jet worked fine. The last 4 flushes were pathetic, little to no jet action. Out of all the water drains in my house (3 bathroom sinks, 3 toilets, 2 bathtubs, 1 kitchen sink, basement floor drain), this one toilet is the only thing that hasn't been performing flawlessly for the 13 years I have lived here.

What gives??? I am ready to rip the darn thing out and replace it, but I really want to fix it instead of replace it.
 
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Reach4

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Note how full the bowl is. Slowly add a quart of water to the bowl. Does the water level go up and stay up? If so, you may need more refill.

Does the toilet tank fill to within 1/2 inch of the overflow? If not, maybe the level could be adjusted higher.

Otherwise, I would look at a replacement with a more modern trapway design.
 

PorcelainWoes

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What is actually wrong with it though? The other 2 toilets of the same make/model/age in this house work just fine.

Note how full the bowl is. Slowly add a quart of water to the bowl. Does the water level go up and stay up? If so, you may need more refill.

Does the toilet tank fill to within 1/2 inch of the overflow? If not, maybe the level could be adjusted higher.

Otherwise, I would look at a replacement with a more modern trapway design.

The bowl fills to the height it always has, and when I add more water the excess goes down the drain like it should.
I have the tank fill valve adjusted to cut off 1/16" from the overflow.
 

Reach4

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One more thing to try. Try pouring water, maybe 4 or 5 gallons from a big bucket or waste container, from as high as you dare as fast as you dare into the toilet bowl. The hope is that the quick flow will knock something loose.
 

Doug P

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Had a toilet that acted that way. Turned out there was a piece of porcelain that was trapped in the siphon jet that had been knocked off the lip of the flush valve opening in the top of the toilet where the tank and toilet mate. It had either been overtightened and the piece broke off and dropped into the siphon jet or somehow got chipped off during installation. Was able to fish piece out of siphon jet with a grabber prong tool and toilet worked fine afterwards. Might check that by disassembling tank and toilet and looking for what’s causing the obstruction.
 

hj

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The fact that it took several "good" flushes before it went bad would normally indicate you have a problem with the drain line and it takes that many flushes to fill the line and then the toilet CANNOT flush again until the water drains out.
 
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