Toto Vespin II (Unifit) Wobble

[Troodon]

Thank you for this invaluable forum and all the postings concerning the Toto unifit toilets. I installed mine (a Vespin II two-piece) yesterday, which I would never have had the confidence to try without the advice and explanations provided by you all.

Today I noticed the toilet rocks side-to-side. From the point of view of someone sitting on the toilet, the toilet rests on the left rear corner. If I sit and lean slightly to the right, the left rear corner of the toilet comes up, and when I lean again left I hear and feel it coming down. The front of the toilet remains in good contact with the floor.

The flange, when I pulled up the old toilet, had a slope towards left and front. The top surface measured 1/4 inch off the floor at the left flange bolt, and 3/8 off the floor at the right flange bolt. The old toilet had no leak issues, so I figured, maybe incorrectly, that the wax would compensate with the new one.

This morning after discovering the wobble, I removed the velcro-attached coverplates on the side and found both bolts loose again, despite having done a 1/2 turn with a wrench after finger tightening them, as per the instructions. I re-tightened the bolts and the wobble's still present. I haven't yet caulked the toilet, but I think I should do so with the product recommended in this forum (Loctite 2-in-1 tub/tile), after shimming the toilet with composite shims.

Sorry for including so many questions and details, but some of the questions are related to each other, and I'm trying to be thorough in my thinking about the situation:

A) Could the fact that the toilet has side-to-side play mean the unifit adapter does as well? And is the flange tilt an issue? It's a 1939 house, so the floor's not necessarily level either.

B) Should I pull up the toilet again, and inspect the unifit adapter? I'm wondering whether the side-to-side movement might be pulling up the anchors (it's an older, ceramic-tiled floor with wood underneath). It occurred to me that if the unifit adapter has been jostled a bit, for instance because the plastic anchors aren't holding in the surrounding floor material, and because the wobbling toilet has been pulling on the adapter, that the movement may have compromised the wax seal.

C) Can the tank be pulled off and put back on, using the same foam tank-to-bowl gasket? If I pull up the toilet to inspect the unifit adapter, I'll need to remove the tank first because I'm not strong enough to lift both (lower back issues), even with my wife's help. Is there a limit to the number of tank removals that can be done before you need to use a new gasket?

D) The Toto tank I got has a semi-circle cutout on the upper back rim. It's got the glaze over it, so it's not a chip that happened during shipping. Is this cutout by design?

I tried to include pictures of the flange, the wobble gaps, and the tank rim cutout, but the interface told me the message was too long, so I couldn't include them. Again, sorry for so many questions!

Thank you.

 

[Troodon]

OK, here are the pictures as another post...

The flange, An illustration of the wobble, and the tank cutout.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

I haven't yet caulked the toilet, but I think I should do so with the product recommended in this forum (Loctite 2-in-1 tub/tile), after shimming the toilet with composite shims.

Yes. The shimming will stop the wobble. A nice thing about the Unifit is that when you add shims or rock, you are not affecting the wax. That will work well.

You should be fine with the plastic over the closet flange over the tilted flange. The wax fills any gap.

The caulking is more important than with a non-Unifit toilet. The toilet is only held down by the rear screws, so the caulking helps keep the front half from sliding.

D) The Toto tank I got has a semi-circle cutout on the upper back rim. It's got the glaze over it, so it's not a chip that happened during shipping. Is this cutout by design?

Yes. Some speculate it is to pass air better. I am not sure, myself.

 

[Terry]

Shimming the Vespin with the Unifit is the same as any other bowl.
The shims go at the back, pinning the front of the blow down.

With the Vespin, because the wax stays stuck to the Unifit and only the bowl moves up and down, you can shim by just loosening the nuts, sliding in the shims, and then snugging the nuts again.

Vespin install. No shims were needed on this one.

 

[Troodon]

I'm really happy to hear I can proceed with the shims without trying to lift it again. Thank you so much for your responses. What a relief! And is it OK to uninstall the tank and re-install it without changing the foam gasket? Here's the new one, installed:

And here's what I started with, a 1939 Kohler Sibley, with a 14" rough-in. What trouble that was getting off! Bolted, painted thickly to the wall, nuts stuck on the spud, and the bowl seemingly mortared to the floor. I thought several times during the process that I'd gotten myself up the creek:

It left us with an area of the wall behind the new toilet to finish, hence our wanting to be able to remove the new tank:

 

[Jadnashua]

You shouldn't need to replace the tank/bowl seal unless you tear it (unlikely). But, to just shim the toilet, there should be no need.

 

[Troodon]

Thank you! We just want to repair the wall behind the tank and paint it.

And after shimming and caulking, does the toilet need to rest for a certain time without anyone using it so the caulk can set?

By the way, the Toto toilet flushes amazingly well. Hardly any water, and poof! Everything's gone. The old toilet produced an immense cascade of water from its giant tank, and you had to flush 2 or 3 times. I'm still amazed I was able to replace the toilet. So much good advice here.

 

[Terry]

When I shim a toilet, it's good to use right away. If you are relying on the caulking to prevent the rocking, then you will need to wait.

 

[Troodon]

Thank you. I will give it a go.

 

[Troodon]

Everything went well, and the toilet's great. Thanks.