American Standard Champion 4

The tank has a slight wobble noticed if you apply backward force on the tank.

There are no leaks and the tank appears level.

However, I hesitate to tighten it since the front lip of the tank is in contact with the bowl. The back however, is not. I figure if I tighten, it will either cause it to lean backwards or crack since its already in contact with procelin.

So my question...

is some wobble normal?
Is the fact its not touching porcelain to porcelain in the back of the tank indication something is wrong?
Will shimming it cause a leak?



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The tank to bowl bolts can be tightened more because the tank is resting on a gasket where it meets the bowl. If you want to put in shims, it can help, I prefer the dense rubber shims for this application. I don't know if the toilet came with shims and they weren't installed, but some manufacturers include shims designed for that purpose.

it should tighten down snuggly. apply the slight backwards force you refer to and at the same time tighten the bolts more. if you are concerned about cracking, slide some faucet washers into a couple of key locations and then tighten. BTW, i have never cracked a tank. i use a nut driver while forcing the tank down with my forearm.

I snugged them up and the tank is more secure now. However, in the installation instructions it says to continue to tighten until the tank rest on 4 "mounting ribs". Well its only resting on the two front ribs and is about 1/2"-3/4" floating above the ones in the back. I didn't see it lower towards the back ribs either.

This champion 4 has some weird fat donut gasket.... should it be completely compressed I wonder?

Thought of another question.

That gasket that's between the tanks and the bowl... Is that seal holding back the tanks contents all the time? Or is it only exposed to water during the flush?

That gasket basically never touches water in most cases. The flush valve extends past the gasket in most cases so the water goes directly from the valve to the toilet bowl porcelain. If the waterways restrict flow, some of the water would push back up and out, but the gasket stops that from happening. So in short, only during a flush, and sometimes not even then.

1/2 to 3/4 inch space in the back is way too much. something is wrong ...

If I remove the tank, can that gasket between tank and bowl be reused?

If that gasket needs replacing, do I need the exact replacement?



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yes and yes..
contact american standard for a free replacement gasket. affectionately know as a "donut"..
lastly, make sure the bolts and nuts are brass or stainless. if they are plated steel, toss them in the trash and but the proper ones. they are available as a kit with washers and nuts..

Awesome thanks for that information... glad I read it before ordering one online this morning $$$$



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I wanted to call attention to Packy's picture. If you have to replace the tank to bowl hardware, notice the numbers of nuts, steel and rubber washers. Cheap sets will only have 2 rubber washers, steel washers, and 2 nuts. The extra hardware is so you can seal the bolts directly to the tank and then attach the tank to the bowl afterward, keeping the seal intact if the tank is loosened whether on purpose or accident.

great catch! I Would have been asking about that....

So from inside the tank, whats the order of assembly?

from inside...
bolt
rubber washer
tank
rubber washer
brass washer
nut
bowl
brass washer
nut.

The second rubber washer, just under the tank, is not doing much good. Any water getting past the first washer will just leak through the threads past the nut. I would rather have the second rubber washer under the mounting surface of the bowl, to make the clamp load of the tank to the bowl a bit elastic and therefore forgiving to any accidental impact load on the tank.

george is correct. the seal comes from inside the tank, not outside.
so do as george says.

take the following to the bank:

looking down into tank,

bolt
rubber gasket/washer
'china tank'
metal washer
nut

tighten this 'sandwich'

insert assembly onto/into toilet

rubber washer
metal washer
nut

tighten EVENLY while PUSHING DOWN juuuuust until tank touches bowl at/on all contact 'ears'

==============================================

"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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Use a toilet tank brace rather than over tightening and causing a crack. They can be found at Home Depot.