Toilet Repair – Fill Valve Replacement
2011-02-27 Initial Post
I had to replace the toilet fill valve the other week for my mother-in-law. It was a Fluidmaster 400A toilet tank fill valve and I replaced it with the same thing. That was the first time I had done any type of toilet repair and learned a few things.
- There are only two major parts of the toilet toilet tank, the fill valve and the flapper.
- If the tank is not filling at all, the problem could be with the water supply line or the fill valve.
- If the tank is filling continuously or can't maintain the proper water level, the problem could be the flapper not sealing tightly.
- You can remove the top cap of the valve to see if there are any obstructions in there and also to clear/flush the system (see instructions here). You might not need to replace the valve afterwards.
- Home Depot sells the top part of the valve, the part that contains all the moving parts. This part fits right over the existing valve shank/base which means you'll spend a lot less time because you won't need to remove the entire valve assembly. Also, this part is several dollars cheaper than the entire valve assembly. I saw this part after I had already replaced everything, so I forget the name of the product. It's not made by Fluidmaster, but is designed to fit the 400A.
Some notes on the actual installation:
- The instructions included in the box were not updated with pictures of the newer angle adapter and it took me a few minutes wondering if I had a missing part. The instructions in general were not well laid out or worded, so I can see the average person with no experience having to reread the steps several times.
- Do a dry run and trim and install the refill tube and connect it to the valve nipple. Also open the top cap now. It's easier to perform these steps during the dry run rather than wait until later after everything is in place and tightened.
- If you have a braided metal water supply line, no additional parts are needed for it. Per instructions: Captive cone washers already included. No additional washers needed.
