I don't have prior experience with toilet installation or related issues. A toilet leak developed at a rental property owned by my son. We removed the toilet, after watching a video about disconnecting the water line, emptying the tank, removing tank, clearing all water from the toilet, and removing the toilet.

We did that. We removed wax. We noticed a crack in the flange. See attached photo. At first, I assumed the crack was the cause of the leak. But, subsequently, I've been thinking the leak may have been caused by wax that had deteriorated; it was dark looking on the side opposite where the flange is cracked.

After watching a video on flange removal, I realized removing a flange is not a simple and easy process since they are usually installed with adhesive, as I understand this. The video showed removal by cutting the flange with what appeared to be a hack saw, and by using a chisel to gradually remove the flange, piece by piece.

In addition, my son wants to put some new vinyl flooring on top of the old sheet vinyl flooring. For now, we'd like to have use of the toilet while other work is being done in the house. So, I think maybe replacement of the flange can at least be postponed until we are ready to install new flooring. In other words, for now, I'm thinking we can reinstall the toilet with a new wax ring. This would also give us a chance to see whether we have any leaking after merely replacing the wax ring. If none, then I'm thinking replacing the flange might not be necessary.

 

Here are instructions how to post pictures.

What is the existing flange and drain pipe made of? cast iron, PVC, ABS

 

So I dont really see what, if any, questions?

 

Test fit the toilet without a wax ring to be sure that the bottom of the toilet and the flange do not touch. And the toilet must sit solidly without rocking. Use shims under the toilet if needed.

Then try just replacing the wax ring. You can leave it that way temporarily provided that you do not see it leak and the toilet does not rock and also does not move due to the lack of one of the bolts holding it to the flange.

If the toilet rocks then chances are the wax ring has become deformed where it will never seal tight and need to be replaced again.

You could get by temporarily with a crack in the flange provided that there is enough flange remaining all the way around for the wax ring to stick to and there are not cracks or voids near the inside that could leak onto the floor or down to the ceiling below and it still possible to hold the toilet in place possibly using a screw pointing down and penetrating the floor..

 

Here's the photo of the flange. The flange is made of PVC. The crack app;ears at the bottom of the photo. As you can see, the crack is on the outer portion of the flange.

The question, of course, is whether this flange can continue be used or must it be replaced. Thanks, AllanJ, for your comments.

 

Yes that flange is cracked. It's glued in place and will not be easy to replace. I would not mess with it. The crack is not a leak point..... it's cracked because the toilet bolt was too tight or the toilet rocked. I'm assuming the toilet bolt was where the red circle was. If so..... you could use a fender washer (blue) screwed thru the flange hole to hold down the cracked flange.



Otherwise I'm thinking you may be able to use a metal repair flange over the PVC one. It may require some new holes to be drilled.

Repair flange example only

 

I would opt for a repair flange, had to use those on both my BR reno's; they were new tile (replaced lino) over slab.

Used this one, or one like it, from HD or Lowe's:

https://www.amazon.com/10672X-HydroS...e+repair&psc=1

Pete, is there much difference in performance between your pic and mine? Can't remember specifically why I chose the ones I did.

 

I'll second PJ's advice. Had the same problem, and a repair flange was the solution. Steve

 

I've seen many different types of repair rings. The best one to use is one that fits over the PVC flange without increasing the overall height too much. It would be even nicer to find one where all the screws line up.

And now that I think about this a little further..... you may need to silicone the repair ring to the PVC flange to keep water from squeezing out between the flange and ring.

 

Yesterday, my son went to a home supply store and bought two products as possible alternatives. One was a Wax ring with polyethylene flange; the other, a non-wax product called Fluidmaster Better Than Wax. We went with the Better-than-Wax-Universal-Toilet-Seal. We did have to put some shims under the toilet. Whether the closet bolt on the side of the flange with the crack will hold up, we'll have to wait and see. If it does not, then we'll probably have to go with the repair ring approach.

 

Did you do something with the cracked flange. It cannot hold the toilet down in it's current state.

Nothing beats an actual wax ring.