Link to Know How Now video - How to Replace Toilet Tank Bolts & Gasket: ua-cam.com/video/QOXmafmANn4/v-deo.html There are hundreds of videos at Know How Now, subscribe so you can always find the channel…. It’s free. I always respect your time and do my best to keep the videos brief, but informative. Check out the channel with this link: www.youtube.com/@Know-How-Now/videos
Thank you for this helpful video. My toilet tank bolts had been in place for at least 30 years and they wouldn't budge. I tried everything including penetrating oil overnight. I knew I had to cut the bolts but my hands are too wracked with arthitis to hold the thin hacksaw blade. I went to Home Depot and I purchased the thinest minihacksaw they had, which was a Stanley that had a good handle for me to hold onto. With the new tool I was able to fit the blade between the tank and the toilet and the bolts were off in no time. Bottom line is that if you have trouble holding the hacksaw blade get a mini hacksaw with a handle. The tool wasn't very expensive (under $15) and since I was at the point of taking the last suggestion on the video and smashing the the tank it was less than buying a new toilet.
Thanks for the tip for anyone having trouble holding the hacksaw blade, Nadine. Good to hear you got the pesky old bolts cut. A dremel tool (if you have one) with a cutting wheel would do the trick too.
Thanks for the heads up about the little hacksaw. I looked up this video yesterday to see what I was up against. Along with the very succinct and helpful advice on the video, your comment about the small hacksaw jumped out at me when I saw it on the rack at the hardware (it was 11.95). It was perfect and made what could have been a really frustrating job much easier. It was back together and flushing like a pro in less than an hour.
Watched your video today. Had a problem with a broken bolt so no ability to use a screwdriver. The blade between the tank and bolt worked!! Thank you so much!!
Very helpful video. I had no room to use hacksaw or cutting wheel. What I ended up doing is carefully marking the center of the brass bolt's head, started with a 1/8 inch pilot hole from the top and finally used 3/8 inch drill to separate the bolt from its head. Thanks again for the video. God Bless. Caution: Be very careful and run your drill on the slowest speed towards the end.
Thanks for this video. I was surprised to hear a woman's voice and you reminded of a female friend who, prior to passing away recently, would do a good amount of home repair work. Ultimately, your video brought me joy in two ways: by teaching me the saw trick (which got rid of two stubborn bolts) and by reminding me of my friend.
Helpful video, for me it came down to cutting the bolts, but I discovered that I just needed to at least deeply notch them, then I could twist/break the bolts. That was faster than trying to cut all the way through.
You are welcome. I agree, smashing the toilet with a hammer after trying to get stuck bolts loose would be very satisfying It was my stab at a little comedy for a frustrating situation.
Your suggestion for using a hacksaw blade by itself was great. That made me think of my reciprocating saw and I have some 9" metal blades -- long enough to slip down and in between tank and bowl. Worked very well and very fast. Just need to hold it steady and be careful to not hit the porcelain.
I was able to use a hacksaw on the whole frame. I had to remove the seat, everything inside the tank, and the waterline. I appreciate your help. It took me 5-10 minutes to cut both bolts.
I employed both the sawzall and hacksaw blade methods. Tub too near the toilet to use sawzall on second bolt. Might have thought to take the blade off the hacksaw but would have been a lot of trial and error first. Thanks for saving me significant time and frustration.
I live in south eastern PA, about a 100 miles from Baltimore. The accent is sometimes identified as Philly. I think we all have a very similar accent. We say wadder instead of water too!
Wow I just found this channel again after having first watched this video several years ago. I can definitely confirm I felt pretty good about taking the hammer to that toilet tank.
Hi there. You gave me a great idea to use a bare hacksaw blade, but what helped that be PB Blaster between the tank and the bowl. I cut through that sucker in 1/2 hour. Also its a good idea to dip the new bolt in vaseline to prevent corrosion.
You are welcome, Heather! There are now over 200 how to/repair videos, organized by playlist on the channel. If you find yourself with some free time check out the channel. Thanks for watching the video and commenting. Have a great day.
Breaking the tank!? I love it! outside the box thinking. I digress. I didn't have to. I did use the sawzall with a metal cutting blade. It took longer to get the find the metal blade in the garage than it did to remove that pesky bolt. Thanks for the tip. My message to the world is, who designed this stuff? The bolts are going to wear. the head on the top for the screwdriver wears too. They should but a huge, easy to grab square bolt or something. I am not a designer, but they should make them so removal is easy, not hard. It just seams so 1920s. Thanks for letting me vent and thanks for the tips. My tank is now off.
I used my Dremel tool with cutting disks (and the snake extension, to keep the tool outside the tank) inside the tank, cut through the rotten rubber washers and the stem of the bolt underneath the head. Added bonus, the little bit of water left in the bottom of the tank kept sparks from being thrown anywhere.
I am able to remove 1 nut with giant screwdriver pushing down. I stripped the slotted head on the 2nd bolt. Not clearance to slide the saw blade. And vise grip no help... Did consider smash the tank and replace the whole toilet. Ended drilling the brass bolt head (2nd person securing the nut at the bottom).
I wound up using a cordless drill and 3/8" bit to drill down through the head of the screw...Then I used an angle grinder to cut between the second nut and tank screw. Give that a try. I was putting it back together in about 20 minutes.
The top of my tank bolt was almost disintegrated and I used a Dremel tool with a metal cutting wheel to cut the bolt into pieces and use a screw driver to break it apart. This took about 20 minutes, I couldn't cut it in half because the the angle. I cut the bolt, turned the bolt, cut again until I could wedge a screwdriver into the cuts and break it apart. This solution would work even if you used the second bolt. With the second bolt you could lift off the tank and cut off the second bolt. Breaking the tank seems a little extreme for a DYI person.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Richard. That's a good idea. Breaking the tank was kind of a joke, though if you are frustrated about getting the bolts loose, it might feel good to break it. lol.
Just had this issue. The boit head was so corroded it crumbled against my screwdriver blade. I couldn't torque the nut down very much before corrosion on the threads froze it. I tried to remove all the corrosion with a wire wheel and applied penetrating oil, still no go. The solution that worked for me was to cut away the remains of the rubber washer, which let me back the nut further *UP* on the threads towards the tank while I gripped the bolt head with some channel lock pliers. It still wouldn't progress _down_ so I hit the threads with a wire wheel again and applied copious penetrating oil. That last bit of thread polishing seemed to do the trick, clearing the part that had been stopping the nut before.
Just now used a fein tool to vibrate rust off the top of the steel bolt heads, and out of the screwdriver slots. Took less than 30 seconds. Hope this helps!
Of course the nut is the one closest to the floor. Can hardly get a wrench on it..got it started and that darn screw started moving with it. I’ll try the Vice tool. It may end up in my back yard. Thanks for sharing your video.
You are welcome. A few years ago I bought a Dremel tool for what I thought might be a one time use. The cutting wheel has gotten me out of so many jambs. I just used it to remove a sink drain a couple of months ago. ua-cam.com/video/rVHifRRLaPs/v-deo.htmlsi=6eTStABnUNjX2P7z
:).I'm new in here from the bathroom. I shut the water off last night and was shocked to see the amount of leakage due to the seal in the bowl.Am just heading back down to try all your ideas.I put this toilet in in 1980 and apart from a rouge flapper, always thought of it as indestructible. If I can't get the bolt to move I will try to double nut the bolt tip and try to slip a thin wrench on the nut holding the tank.Any ways you look at it, a fun afternoon.Of course there is always the option to just move on and try a low flow replacement.BTW my dad was a tradesman too-electrician. I can tell he trained ya up good!
I hope you got the pesky bolts freed up or cut. A Dremel tool with a cutting wheel is another option. I recently bought one, they are not very expensive. I am surprised at how often I have used it. Thanks for the compliment. We have a lot of family members in the trades, so I grew up watching things get built or repaired. There was always conversation about those topics too (no UA-cam yet). The only repair/service people who came to the house, was someone to clean the oil burning furnace.
Before I resort to taking the sledgehammer to my toilet, thought I'd search for some helpful videos on dealing with rusty bolts that haven't been touched in 45 years.....looks like a hacksaw blade is my best option left. Thanks for sparing me from disposing of broken porcelain....lol.
I used the saw blade in the toilet tank to saw the bolt that was in the rear of the tank. I was able to unscrew the two front bolts but the back one took hours to saw three and a lot of prayers while I was doing it. I hope it is earlier for Me today.
THANK YOU FOR THE TAPED HANDLE SAW IDEA. I like to never call a professional. My wife loves when I fix shit. I thought of an electric saw but thought it would catch and piledrive my tank or rattle and ream the wholes apart. I also considered an angle grinder, but there wasn't enough space to get it in. I also have a dremel around here but not exactly sure where.. Considered cutting the tops out a bit at a time.
Thank you for the tips. I tried the saw thingy and gave up. Ill try again by wrapping it with tape. I have to saw from inside the tank under the bolt( there’s only 5” of room on left side, 1” on right)because the nut is recessed under tank! sprayed oil…. No luck. Old toilet!
Lent out my vicegrips so I used a lubricant spray similar to wd 40, a 13 deep socket wrench and a long wide mouthed channel locks..sprayed the rusted nut and bolt and let sit for maybe 10 minutes..got my socket wrench on the nut and held the top bolt inside the tank with the channel locks..all the loosening work was done with the socket wrench and the bolt was held really tight with the channel locks when doing so
Vice grips worked for me to remove stuck bolt due to mineral deposits on brass. I tried the vinegar but I probably didn't let it sit long enough; it was still stuck. How to get the vice grip to grab (from inside the tank): I removed the corroded rubber washer with a small chisel or small screw driver. Just chisel out the rubber washer. With the rubber washer out of the way, the vice grip will having something to grab.
Thanks! Had to go with the hacksaw blade to get mine off. Thank you for posting this, and if no one has told you, Jesus loves you!!! God bless you and thanks again for the video!
I replaced my toilet tank innards today and this video helped me a bunch! I never would have thought about using the hacksaw blade and simply taping one end as a handle. It worked great! I sprayed it with rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to help sterilize and keep the rust dust down. Thank you for teaching us!! Amen because Jesus loves us all!
Yep I am ready to take a hammer to it because the builder put the 2nd nut on the bolt. I may very well have a great time beating the hell out of this toilet!!😂😂😂
How about putting one of the black washers on the bottom of the tank before mounting it to the bowl? It gives a little play to the tank without having it crack.
OK I'm 6 years late to this party! Today, I ended up using a Dremmel cutting tool to cut thru the rusted nut. The nut that I was having issues with was the one in back, and it pretty tight back there! I do have a hacksaw, but I had no room to "hack" and I didn't think to cut between the tank and bowl. Next time.
So why would someone install a second nut between the tank and bowl? Sounds like from what you described it would only cause headache if the bolt needed to be cut. Is there a benefit to installing the 2nd nut?
It's best practice to use brass nuts and bolts. Brass is a soft metal and can easily be sawed. The idea is that the nut will allow space between the tank & bowl.... allowing space to put a saw blade between the two pieces.
i didn't know anything about the second nut years ago when someone asked me to work on a toilet. i didn't know why the bolt wouldn't come out and foolishly hammered on it and cracked the porcelain.
@@Know-How-Now i like brass but in recent years have been using stainless steel for things. it's nice that brass is soft and theoretically easy to saw but if the stuff didn't corrode in the first place this wouldn't be necessary. these nuts are impossible to see without a mirror, there is very little room to access them and the position is uncomfortable. they are so corroded i can't believe they were brass in the first place. it is even hard to make sure a socket will fit them properly (i think 7/16") and even so a screwdriver won't hold the soft brass heads securely in order to try to start unscrewing. why not at least make these with deeper slots or even hex heads? my attitude is that if stainless steel had been used in the first place it would be possible to just unscrew everything and replace the "rubber" pieces. as it is, this is just one more frustating time-consuming project that is likely to end up damaging major components.
It's hard to find quality goods. I bought some bibs screws, they are chrome colored, the package says they are brass. I was told that they are brass plated with chrome.
sometimes ill run a screw or two thru the rubber washer to wedge the bolt still. i have also used a tire iron as a flat tip it has a really wide tip and its in the shape of an L so you can put some real torque on it. if you do this try it first so it wont be stripped out by then.
Thanks for taking the time to comment with another way to remove the bolts. Comments like yours add to the value of the video. Brass bolts would be fairly soft and easy to drill out.
Drop all the hammers! Instead of a saws-all or hacksaw blade, an oscillating cutting tool like the Dremel hyper-speed cuts the bolts right off! Scary, lots of noise and you are gutting blind, but it worked! Use a carbide blade.
I can't get the nut off of the fill valve that is underneath the toilet I have tried for 3 to 4 hours I need some help it is too tight and I'm in a compact bathroom
Sorry I didn't see this until now.... might be too late. Try spraying it with penetrating oil (PB Plaster brand is found at the big box hardware stores), wait a couple of hours. Try again. Make sure you are turning the nut the correct direction. Imagine looking at the nut on the bottom of the tank if you were laying on your back and looking up at it from the floor. Turn the nut counter clockwise. If there isn't room for a wrench you can make a DIY tool for a plastic nut. I have a video that shows how. See link. Also, you may be able to get a basin wrench on it. See link on how to use one of those. DIY wrench: ua-cam.com/video/gtqB3V8mfeU/v-deo.html Basin Wrench: ua-cam.com/video/gwM9Sk3E_Ok/v-deo.html
If the first try with the penetrating oil doesn't work, then tap the nut a bit, and reapply the penetration oil, wait, and try again. If something is really stuck if may take a few tries to get the penetrating oil worked into the threads. I had a bicycle seat post that was rusted the the frame. It took 4 cycles of tapping & reapplying the penetrating oil over a period of a few days until it finally broke free.
You are welcome. Yep the Milwaukee is heavy, it's a real beast. I kind think it was a Christmas present. My brother and I share custody of an old Black & Decker circular saw... from when Black & Decker made good tools.
Who is the idiot that designed how the tank attaches to the bowl? What a nightmare with rusted bolts and nuts, and the top part of the bolt in the tank only has a small slot that barely does anything to keep the bolt from turning while removing the nut. Now I don't even have a wrench large enough to fit the large spud nut on the main hole going down to the bowl.
Salzall Metal Blade , will work just fine between the tanks … ….also Why they use Flat head bolts is beyond me , in the tank,,, USE a Brass Bolt with a Head on it ..
Use a Dremel tool cut the NUT in 2 separate places it will fall off take no time at all please use safety glasses and have someone help you out they will need to hold a screwdriver to the top to Stabilize the bolt form moving
After trying everything but breaking the tank, I pulled out an old and dusty Dremel as soon as I read the video comments. Thanks for the suggestion Ashley!!! Saved my sanity and a lot of flying porcelain.
Had the same problem. Was able to get one bolt off but the second kept twirling. So I bent the washer enough to go through the hole and jiggled it to the point it went through the floor-to-toilet hole, and the toilet came off. Just another suggestion.
I'm heading to my brother's house in an hour to replace a wax seal on the toilet. He says one of the bolts is spinning. I'm going to try a new trick. Use a flat bar to lift the toilet while turning the nut. A dremel tool with a cutting wheel is the 2nd option. Thank for subscribing. Welcome to Know How Now.
Krissy, sorry you did not find this video helpful. Unfortunately, the majority of viewers will not watch a video of me taking 10 minutes to hand saw through toilet tank bolts, so I chose not to do so. The concept of the video was to go over all the possible options to get rusted bolts free.
@@Know-How-Now you explained it perfectly. Gave multiple options and I had to use the hacksaw option. Very rusty bolts but with your advice, only took me 15 minutes to hand saw both bolts, and taking 2 or 3 short breaks cause my hand was cramping. But, I GOT IT DONE THANKS TO YOU!!! ROCK ON!!!
Link to Know How Now video - How to Replace Toilet Tank Bolts & Gasket: ua-cam.com/video/QOXmafmANn4/v-deo.html
There are hundreds of videos at Know How Now, subscribe so you can always find the channel…. It’s free. I always respect your time and do my best to keep the videos brief, but informative. Check out the channel with this link:
www.youtube.com/@Know-How-Now/videos
Thanks! My tank is already broke so I'm going to try the hammer
Gotta say, after spending an afternoon with rusted nuts, that last option with the hammer is sounding REALLY appealing!
I'm sure the hammer method has made someone feel better, just thinking about it is a fun mental image. lol.
Thank you for this helpful video. My toilet tank bolts had been in place for at least 30 years and they wouldn't budge. I tried everything including penetrating oil overnight. I knew I had to cut the bolts but my hands are too wracked with arthitis to hold the thin hacksaw blade. I went to Home Depot and I purchased the thinest minihacksaw they had, which was a Stanley that had a good handle for me to hold onto. With the new tool I was able to fit the blade between the tank and the toilet and the bolts were off in no time. Bottom line is that if you have trouble holding the hacksaw blade get a mini hacksaw with a handle. The tool wasn't very expensive (under $15) and since I was at the point of taking the last suggestion on the video and smashing the the tank it was less than buying a new toilet.
Thanks for the tip for anyone having trouble holding the hacksaw blade, Nadine. Good to hear you got the pesky old bolts cut. A dremel tool (if you have one) with a cutting wheel would do the trick too.
Thanks for the heads up about the little hacksaw. I looked up this video yesterday to see what I was up against. Along with the very succinct and helpful advice on the video, your comment about the small hacksaw jumped out at me when I saw it on the rack at the hardware (it was 11.95). It was perfect and made what could have been a really frustrating job much easier. It was back together and flushing like a pro in less than an hour.
Watched your video today. Had a problem with a broken bolt so no ability to use a screwdriver. The blade between the tank and bolt worked!! Thank you so much!!
You are welcome!
Very helpful video. I had no room to use hacksaw or cutting wheel. What I ended up doing is carefully marking the center of the brass bolt's head, started with a 1/8 inch pilot hole from the top and finally used 3/8 inch drill to separate the bolt from its head. Thanks again for the video. God Bless. Caution: Be very careful and run your drill on the slowest speed towards the end.
Thanks for taking the time to add the helpful comment.
Thanks for this video. I was surprised to hear a woman's voice and you reminded of a female friend who, prior to passing away recently, would do a good amount of home repair work. Ultimately, your video brought me joy in two ways: by teaching me the saw trick (which got rid of two stubborn bolts) and by reminding me of my friend.
You are welcome. It's my pleasure to help and for the fond memory of a friend.
THANKS!! this saved me a world of trouble today!!!
You are welcome!
Rusted bold, this video was on the money. I used the hacksaw and was able to complete my task at hand. Thanks for the posting, it was very helpful
You are welcome, it's great to hear you got the bolts removed.
Thanks for the hacksaw blade solution! Saved the day.
You are welcome. Good to hear the hacksaw blade worked for you.
*This should be a standard for UA-cam how to videos*
Wow she hit every problem associated with these in a few minutes.
Thanks for the compliment, Bryce. That it my aim, make it short and pack as much info into the video as possible. We are all busy people.
Helpful video, for me it came down to cutting the bolts, but I discovered that I just needed to at least deeply notch them, then I could twist/break the bolts. That was faster than trying to cut all the way through.
Thanks for taking the time to comment with your experience and the short cut.
Thank you for making this video. I will try the hacksaw, but at this point, the hammer sounds more satisfying.
You are welcome. I agree, smashing the toilet with a hammer after trying to get stuck bolts loose would be very satisfying It was my stab at a little comedy for a frustrating situation.
Like another commenter mentioned, ended up drilling the bolt heads. Thank you for the video. The suggestions are surely helpful for many.
Using that trick with the pliers saved me so much time! Thank you for your amazing videos :D
You are welcome. I do my best to make good quality videos.
Your suggestion for using a hacksaw blade by itself was great. That made me think of my reciprocating saw and I have some 9" metal blades -- long enough to slip down and in between tank and bowl. Worked very well and very fast. Just need to hold it steady and be careful to not hit the porcelain.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Rod. Your experience may be helpful to other viewers.
Great advice! Your dad taught you well! Thanks
You are welcome, Angela. It's my pleasure to help.
Thank you. I DO appreciate your video. I haven't tried cutting the bolt with a hack saw blade. I am going to try that now. God bless you.
You are welcome, Benny. Best wishes for the repair.
thank you! smashed right threw the tank with a hammer! and was then able to cut off the screw
I bet that was fun!
Lol
That sucks but the way you wrote that is Kind of funny. You can feel your frustration.
Lol, sounds like the right plan for me! 😂
i did the same thing
Thank you! With your videos, I was able to repair our leaky toilet without calling a plumber!
You are welcome, Deb! Way to go on the successful repair!
I was able to use a hacksaw on the whole frame. I had to remove the seat, everything inside the tank, and the waterline. I appreciate your help. It took me 5-10 minutes to cut both bolts.
Thank you! Had to use the hack saw blade tonight! Thank you SO much for the tip!!!
You are welcome, Mary. It's great to hear that the video helped solve your problem. Have a great day.
I employed both the sawzall and hacksaw blade methods. Tub too near the toilet to use sawzall on second bolt. Might have thought to take the blade off the hacksaw but would have been a lot of trial and error first. Thanks for saving me significant time and frustration.
Thanks for watching the video and taking the time to comment, Erik. It's my pleasure to help. Have a great day.
if you take vice grips and clamp the bottom of the BOLT you can use a wrench to loosen the bolt while holding the grips
This is a good tip
Thanks you so much the saw blade did the job
You are welcome, Paul.
They way you say 'on' and end words like 'video' lead me to believe you must be in or from Baltimore, hon! LOL!
I live in south eastern PA, about a 100 miles from Baltimore. The accent is sometimes identified as Philly. I think we all have a very similar accent. We say wadder instead of water too!
Just great! Anyone who needs a demonstration after listening to your explanation should call a plumber, or apply for a apprenticeship.
Thanks, I hope you don't have to resort to the hammer. lol!
Wow I just found this channel again after having first watched this video several years ago. I can definitely confirm I felt pretty good about taking the hammer to that toilet tank.
Hi there. You gave me a great idea to use a bare hacksaw blade, but what helped that be PB Blaster between the tank and the bowl. I cut through that sucker in 1/2 hour. Also its a good idea to dip the new bolt in vaseline to prevent corrosion.
Thanks for the great tips Paul. PB Blaster is my favorite for anything that is rusted and needs to be removed.
Hack saw blade was a great idea!! Worked well. Thanks!
You are welcome, Heather! There are now over 200 how to/repair videos, organized by playlist on the channel. If you find yourself with some free time check out the channel. Thanks for watching the video and commenting. Have a great day.
Thank you very much for this video. I ended up using a sawzall to cut one of my bolts off and it works great
You are welcome, it's my pleasure to help.
Breaking the tank!? I love it! outside the box thinking. I digress. I didn't have to. I did use the sawzall with a metal cutting blade. It took longer to get the find the metal blade in the garage than it did to remove that pesky bolt. Thanks for the tip. My message to the world is, who designed this stuff? The bolts are going to wear. the head on the top for the screwdriver wears too. They should but a huge, easy to grab square bolt or something. I am not a designer, but they should make them so removal is easy, not hard. It just seams so 1920s. Thanks for letting me vent and thanks for the tips. My tank is now off.
I used my Dremel tool with cutting disks (and the snake extension, to keep the tool outside the tank) inside the tank, cut through the rotten rubber washers and the stem of the bolt underneath the head. Added bonus, the little bit of water left in the bottom of the tank kept sparks from being thrown anywhere.
Great idea, thanks for sharing.
Worked. Used a mutli-tool cutter. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for taking the time to share, Shabbir. Have a great day.
I am able to remove 1 nut with giant screwdriver pushing down. I stripped the slotted head on the 2nd bolt. Not clearance to slide the saw blade. And vise grip no help... Did consider smash the tank and replace the whole toilet. Ended drilling the brass bolt head (2nd person securing the nut at the bottom).
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Good to hear you didn't have to smash the toilet.
I wound up using a cordless drill and 3/8" bit to drill down through the head of the screw...Then I used an angle grinder to cut between the second nut and tank screw. Give that a try. I was putting it back together in about 20 minutes.
you a genius . . . . . . .
The top of my tank bolt was almost disintegrated and I used a Dremel tool with a metal cutting wheel to cut the bolt into pieces and use a screw driver to break it apart. This took about 20 minutes, I couldn't cut it in half because the the angle. I cut the bolt, turned the bolt, cut again until I could wedge a screwdriver into the cuts and break it apart. This solution would work even if you used the second bolt. With the second bolt you could lift off the tank and cut off the second bolt. Breaking the tank seems a little extreme for a DYI person.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Richard. That's a good idea. Breaking the tank was kind of a joke, though if you are frustrated about getting the bolts loose, it might feel good to break it. lol.
Just had this issue. The boit head was so corroded it crumbled against my screwdriver blade. I couldn't torque the nut down very much before corrosion on the threads froze it. I tried to remove all the corrosion with a wire wheel and applied penetrating oil, still no go.
The solution that worked for me was to cut away the remains of the rubber washer, which let me back the nut further *UP* on the threads towards the tank while I gripped the bolt head with some channel lock pliers. It still wouldn't progress _down_ so I hit the threads with a wire wheel again and applied copious penetrating oil. That last bit of thread polishing seemed to do the trick, clearing the part that had been stopping the nut before.
Thanks for the contribution to the video. Wow, penetrating oil usually does the trick.
Thank you so much was very helpful the only thing I did different was put vice grips on the wack saw blade thumbs up
You are welcome, Brandon. Thank you for taking the time to share the additional helpful tip.
Just now used a fein tool to vibrate rust off the top of the steel bolt heads, and out of the screwdriver slots. Took less than 30 seconds. Hope this helps!
Thanks Chris!
Hacksaw blade did it for me, thanks for posting.
You are welcome, Paul.
Thanks a lot for that tip, forgot about the sawzaw. Boy am I slow. Done this before about 20 yrs ago
You are welcome. Good luck with the removal.
That's a beautiful SawZall!!!!
It's a family heirloom. lol.
@@Know-How-Now I can understand that. I have only one tool of my dad's, he passed away in the early 80's, and I will treasure it for ever.
Of course the nut is the one closest to the floor. Can hardly get a wrench on it..got it started and that darn screw started moving with it. I’ll try the Vice tool. It may end up in my back yard. Thanks for sharing your video.
You are welcome. A few years ago I bought a Dremel tool for what I thought might be a one time use. The cutting wheel has gotten me out of so many jambs. I just used it to remove a sink drain a couple of months ago. ua-cam.com/video/rVHifRRLaPs/v-deo.htmlsi=6eTStABnUNjX2P7z
:).I'm new in here from the bathroom. I shut the water off last night and was shocked to see the amount of leakage due to the seal in the bowl.Am just heading back down to try all your ideas.I put this toilet in in 1980 and apart from a rouge flapper, always thought of it as indestructible.
If I can't get the bolt to move I will try to double nut the bolt tip and try to slip a thin wrench on the nut holding the tank.Any ways you look at it, a fun afternoon.Of course there is always the option to just move on and try a low flow replacement.BTW my dad was a tradesman too-electrician. I can tell he trained ya up good!
I hope you got the pesky bolts freed up or cut. A Dremel tool with a cutting wheel is another option. I recently bought one, they are not very expensive. I am surprised at how often I have used it.
Thanks for the compliment. We have a lot of family members in the trades, so I grew up watching things get built or repaired. There was always conversation about those topics too (no UA-cam yet). The only repair/service people who came to the house, was someone to clean the oil burning furnace.
Before I resort to taking the sledgehammer to my toilet, thought I'd search for some helpful videos on dealing with rusty bolts that haven't been touched in 45 years.....looks like a hacksaw blade is my best option left. Thanks for sparing me from disposing of broken porcelain....lol.
It's my pleasure to save the toilet from being smashed to bits.
I used the saw blade in the toilet tank to saw the bolt that was in the rear of the tank. I was able to unscrew the two front bolts but the back one took hours to saw three and a lot of prayers while I was doing it. I hope it is earlier for
Me today.
THANK YOU FOR THE TAPED HANDLE SAW IDEA. I like to never call a professional. My wife loves when I fix shit. I thought of an electric saw but thought it would catch and piledrive my tank or rattle and ream the wholes apart. I also considered an angle grinder, but there wasn't enough space to get it in. I also have a dremel around here but not exactly sure where.. Considered cutting the tops out a bit at a time.
You are welcome. The taped handle is low tech, but cheap and effective. Way to go on getting points with wifey!
Thank you for the tips. I tried the saw thingy and gave up. Ill try again by wrapping it with tape. I have to saw from inside the tank under the bolt( there’s only 5” of room on left side, 1” on right)because the nut is recessed under tank! sprayed oil…. No luck. Old toilet!
Did you try some PB Blaster penetrating oil? That might help.
yes it's so frustrating to have no room to work. i have the same situation.
Lent out my vicegrips so I used a lubricant spray similar to wd 40, a 13 deep socket wrench and a long wide mouthed channel locks..sprayed the rusted nut and bolt and let sit for maybe 10 minutes..got my socket wrench on the nut and held the top bolt inside the tank with the channel locks..all the loosening work was done with the socket wrench and the bolt was held really tight with the channel locks when doing so
Thanks for taking the time to tell how you got your tank bolts loose. It's contributions like yours that enhance the value of the video.
Thank you!!!🙏🏼
You are welcome!
very good video.
Thanks for watching the video and the compliment.
You can use an angle grinder as well.
Vice grips worked for me to remove stuck bolt due to mineral deposits on brass. I tried the vinegar but I probably didn't let it sit long enough; it was still stuck. How to get the vice grip to grab (from inside the tank): I removed the corroded rubber washer with a small chisel or small screw driver. Just chisel out the rubber washer. With the rubber washer out of the way, the vice grip will having something to grab.
Thanks for adding the helpful comment!
I want sure how to grab it from inside so thanks for this comment
Thx for the hacksaw suggestion. Used stanley mini hackdaw amd got the screw cut in 5minutes
You are welcome. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Way to go on getting the bolts free.
Hacksaw blade worked. Thank you very much
You are welcome, Andrew. Way to go on taking care of those bolts.
Thanks! Had to go with the hacksaw blade to get mine off. Thank you for posting this, and if no one has told you, Jesus loves you!!! God bless you and thanks again for the video!
You are welcome, Phillip!
I replaced my toilet tank innards today and this video helped me a bunch! I never would have thought about using the hacksaw blade and simply taping one end as a handle. It worked great! I sprayed it with rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to help sterilize and keep the rust dust down. Thank you for teaching us!! Amen because Jesus loves us all!
Yep I am ready to take a hammer to it because the builder put the 2nd nut on the bolt. I may very well have a great time beating the hell out of this toilet!!😂😂😂
How about putting one of the black washers on the bottom of the tank before mounting it to the bowl?
It gives a little play to the tank without having it crack.
Some folks do that, I can't say if there is a downside to that method. There can be more than one way to do something.
As tempting as breaking the bowl suggestion was, I will try the backsaw blade. Lol.
Yes, the mental image of breaking it after it's caused so much trouble is very satisfying.
Vice grips and PB Blaster did the trick!!!
Didnt consider the hacksaw blade. Thanks worked well!
You are welcome. It's always good to hear one of the ideas helped.
No room to get a saw blade inbetween the pan and the cistern on mine. Ended up drilling the bolt head out. Took about 2 minutes each side.
Easy outs?
Thank you! The vice grips (with an assist from my son) worked!! Again, thanks very much.
You are welcome, Gary.
Hacksaw blade worked, nut came right off Thank You ;)
You are welcome. Way to go on being resourceful and finding a solution for your problem.
OK I'm 6 years late to this party! Today, I ended up using a Dremmel cutting tool to cut thru the rusted nut. The nut that I was having issues with was the one in back, and it pretty tight back there! I do have a hacksaw, but I had no room to "hack" and I didn't think to cut between the tank and bowl. Next time.
I love my Dremmel. When I bought it for a project I thought I would likely never use it again. The cutting wheel has saved the day many times.
Maybe an oscillating multi-tool can help in cutting bolts?
Try olive oil! It works to loosen it up.I just did that and it works wonders specially if you a are working in a tight spot and don’t have help. 😁
Thank you! I will try olive oil!
Will try hacksaw blade method. Presently trying to remove tank and bolts are rusted
Good Luck, Shiva.
Went through three hacksaw blades before the Dremel was successful. I hope they worked better for you Shiva.
I used the a nut splitter and worked great!
It also split the mount point but shhh
Thanks for taking the time to write about another way to remove tank bolts. Contributions like yours add extra value to the video.
long blade on a sawzall saved me certain mental collapse for the rusted bolt
Whoever installed ours used construction adhesive. Sheesh. Thanks, Lamar
😮 You are welcome, Lamar.
OMG
So why would someone install a second nut between the tank and bowl? Sounds like from what you described it would only cause headache if the bolt needed to be cut. Is there a benefit to installing the 2nd nut?
It's best practice to use brass nuts and bolts. Brass is a soft metal and can easily be sawed. The idea is that the nut will allow space between the tank & bowl.... allowing space to put a saw blade between the two pieces.
i didn't know anything about the second nut years ago when someone asked me to work on a toilet. i didn't know why the bolt wouldn't come out and foolishly hammered on it and cracked the porcelain.
@@Know-How-Now i like brass but in recent years have been using stainless steel for things. it's nice that brass is soft and theoretically easy to saw but if the stuff didn't corrode in the first place this wouldn't be necessary. these nuts are impossible to see without a mirror, there is very little room to access them and the position is uncomfortable. they are so corroded i can't believe they were brass in the first place. it is even hard to make sure a socket will fit them properly (i think 7/16") and even so a screwdriver won't hold the soft brass heads securely in order to try to start unscrewing. why not at least make these with deeper slots or even hex heads? my attitude is that if stainless steel had been used in the first place it would be possible to just unscrew everything and replace the "rubber" pieces. as it is, this is just one more frustating time-consuming project that is likely to end up damaging major components.
I did buy brass bolts the last time. However they were just brass plated and they rusted through.
It's hard to find quality goods. I bought some bibs screws, they are chrome colored, the package says they are brass. I was told that they are brass plated with chrome.
Use a magnet to see if they are steel.
sometimes ill run a screw or two thru the rubber washer to wedge the bolt still. i have also used a tire iron as a flat tip it has a really wide tip and its in the shape of an L so you can put some real torque on it. if you do this try it first so it wont be stripped out by then.
Thanks for sharing some other methods to get tank bolts loose.
Tire Iron is perfect for a stripped wide groove!!!
Yes this helps. Thanks God bless.
You are welcome.
Friend of mine said he took a cordless drill with a bit close to the size of the bolt and drilled through the head. Breaks off easily from there.
Thanks for taking the time to comment with another way to remove the bolts. Comments like yours add to the value of the video. Brass bolts would be fairly soft and easy to drill out.
Drop all the hammers! Instead of a saws-all or hacksaw blade, an oscillating cutting tool like the Dremel hyper-speed cuts the bolts right off! Scary, lots of noise and you are gutting blind, but it worked! Use a carbide blade.
I can't get the nut off of the fill valve that is underneath the toilet I have tried for 3 to 4 hours I need some help it is too tight and I'm in a compact bathroom
Sorry I didn't see this until now.... might be too late. Try spraying it with penetrating oil (PB Plaster brand is found at the big box hardware stores), wait a couple of hours. Try again. Make sure you are turning the nut the correct direction. Imagine looking at the nut on the bottom of the tank if you were laying on your back and looking up at it from the floor. Turn the nut counter clockwise. If there isn't room for a wrench you can make a DIY tool for a plastic nut. I have a video that shows how. See link. Also, you may be able to get a basin wrench on it. See link on how to use one of those. DIY wrench: ua-cam.com/video/gtqB3V8mfeU/v-deo.html Basin Wrench: ua-cam.com/video/gwM9Sk3E_Ok/v-deo.html
@@Know-How-Now I will try it again. I dont have a basin tool but I'll let the penetrating oil soak awhile then try it. Thanks a bunch
If the first try with the penetrating oil doesn't work, then tap the nut a bit, and reapply the penetration oil, wait, and try again. If something is really stuck if may take a few tries to get the penetrating oil worked into the threads. I had a bicycle seat post that was rusted the the frame. It took 4 cycles of tapping & reapplying the penetrating oil over a period of a few days until it finally broke free.
Guess I’m pullin out the damn saw then!!!
Think I am going straight to he blanket and hammer!
OMG thank u so much gonna do the hacksaw.
You are welcome, Josh.
Helpful...abt 2 blanket my tank
Way to go on saving the toilet!
Hack saw blade it is. Thanks, great video!
You are welcome!
I'm using an air Dremmel tool
I used the hacksaw, it took 5 secs.
Damn, completely rotted crap bolts, huh? Must have been paper thin!!
@@Anarchy-Is-Liberty yeah, the saw was sharp but the bolt was rusty.
@@lamartrade7415 Awesome, makes it fast and easy!
Thanks.And I bet dads Milwaukee weighs a ton. Lol sometimes a hammer is more satisfying.
You are welcome. Yep the Milwaukee is heavy, it's a real beast. I kind think it was a Christmas present. My brother and I share custody of an old Black & Decker circular saw... from when Black & Decker made good tools.
Who is the idiot that designed how the tank attaches to the bowl? What a nightmare with rusted bolts and nuts, and the top part of the bolt in the tank only has a small slot that barely does anything to keep the bolt from turning while removing the nut.
Now I don't even have a wrench large enough to fit the large spud nut on the main hole going down to the bowl.
Battery powered Dremel with cut off wheel is your friend
Salzall Metal Blade , will work just fine between the tanks … ….also Why they use Flat head bolts is beyond me , in the tank,,, USE a Brass Bolt with a Head on it ..
I was thinking the same Damn thing Wtf was they thinking. I concur
Yes thank you hun nice see lady on here TY. 👍
You are welcome.
Use a Dremel tool cut the NUT in 2 separate places it will fall off take no time at all please use safety glasses and have someone help you out they will need to hold a screwdriver to the top to Stabilize the bolt form moving
Thanks for commenting Ashley. That's a great idea, I'm sure it will be helpful to some viewers.
After trying everything but breaking the tank, I pulled out an old and dusty Dremel as soon as I read the video comments. Thanks for the suggestion Ashley!!! Saved my sanity and a lot of flying porcelain.
Had the same problem. Was able to get one bolt off but the second kept twirling. So I bent the washer enough to go through the hole and jiggled it to the point it went through the floor-to-toilet hole, and the toilet came off. Just another suggestion.
Thanks for taking the time to comment with another possible solution. It's contributions like yours that make the video better.
Just hack saw it through, thanks
You are welcome.
oh God. Do i really have to saw it....!? T.T im dead....
I'm heading to my brother's house in an hour to replace a wax seal on the toilet. He says one of the bolts is spinning. I'm going to try a new trick. Use a flat bar to lift the toilet while turning the nut. A dremel tool with a cutting wheel is the 2nd option. Thank for subscribing. Welcome to Know How Now.
@ I tried it with a towel. Got one bolt. But the other is 😬
🫰🏽🫰🏽🫰🏽
Drilling them out was much easier
Didn’t show a damn thing!
Sorry the ideas don't work for you. With over 105,000 views, there are over 1,000 thumbs up vs 122 thumbs down.
Leave this to the experienced plumber please.
This did not help at all. I might use my dremel tool
no demonstration ..so how is this helping!???
Krissy, sorry you did not find this video helpful. Unfortunately, the majority of viewers will not watch a video of me taking 10 minutes to hand saw through toilet tank bolts, so I chose not to do so. The concept of the video was to go over all the possible options to get rusted bolts free.
Know How Now I would have definitely watched 😓😓
@@Know-How-Now you explained it perfectly. Gave multiple options and I had to use the hacksaw option. Very rusty bolts but with your advice, only took me 15 minutes to hand saw both bolts, and taking 2 or 3 short breaks cause my hand was cramping. But, I GOT IT DONE THANKS TO YOU!!!
ROCK ON!!!
Way to go Phillip! Thanks for the kind words and for watching the video.
This helped me tremendously. Thank you, you're directions were spot on. If someone needs a demonstration they should probably call a plumber.