Replacing the Toilet Floor Mounting Flange - Luxury Coach Lifestyles
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-05-2010, 05:39 PM   #1
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default Replacing the Toilet Floor Mounting Flange

Hi all,

when i put granite flooring in the hall and bathroom i didnt remove the toilet mounting flange (the plastic piece that the toilet bolts are on that you mount the toilet to). so, the flange was about 3/8" below the floor. in my rush to get the coach together to go on our long trip, i just put the toilet on with the foam seal and off i went.

this past few trips darlene kept smelling a slight odor back there. eventually i saw seepage on top of the black tank in the bay and when flushing the toilet a few drips of water would run outside the hose that connects the flange to the black tank.

it ends up that i should have paid closer attention to that. with the flange below the floor level, the toilet couldnt compress the seal enough and eventually when the foam got saturated, it would slightly leak outside the flange and run through the floor and run down the outside of the 4" hose.

i really didnt want to take it out, so i though i would put a rubber spacer on top of the flange, but that wont work because the bolts are not long enough to then go through the mount of the toilet. to change those bolts i had to take the flange out. i had to destroy the flange to get it out because the wood screws had rusted and the heads broke off. so to get it out i had to drill around them and destroy the flange.

so, i ordered a flange. i also ordered a 12"x12" rubber sheet 1/2" thick to go under the new flange. with richards expertise, i got 70 durometer rated rubber.

so, now how to get the flange disconnected. most of you know i am a big boy. also, the toilet is recessed about 2 feet or more from the sidewall of the coach. there is a lot of plumbing between the bay door and the place where the 3" pipe goes into the main black tank.

my son and i torqued and twisted it trying to get it out. since my luck is usually to break something while fixing something, i didnt want to break that 160 gallon tank.

so i called newell and got to talk to their plumber who guided me through what to do. my particular coach has a plastic tank and there were two systems for that 3" pipe to go into the tank. one is threaded and the other is a slip fitting. mine was the slip. basically a nipple of the 3" pipe about 6" long slips into the tank fitting until it hits a stop. then it was silconed around the outside to seal it. he said they did that before they put the tank in. well, i aint gonna take the tank out, so i will have to do that through the hole in the floor in the bathroom and shrink my arms and hands first.......

then it is dayco 4" OD radiator hose that slips over the flange and the nipple in the tank and is secured with hose clamps.

i thought i would just replace the radiator hose since i had it out, but at 41 dollars a foot, i think i will reuse it. cheapskate that i am.

so, now i just have to find some longer stainless wood screws to mount the new flange, get some 3" abs drain pipe to glue into the flange and cut the rubber spacer and put it all back together.

i will post some pictures when i am done.

another note. i have been experimenting with different black tank deodorizers. i am currently using a bacteria base one that eats the waste. it basically has taken almost all the odor out of the tank. i know first hand because i am working in that closed area and have the big hole into the tank exposed.....

always something.

later

tom
__________________

__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2010, 06:18 PM   #2
folivier
Senior Member
 
folivier's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Thibodaux, LA
Posts: 1,221
Default

This is very timely for me. I am planning to remove the wood floor in the bathroom and replace either with tile or vinyl. I am anxiously awaiting pictures!
I can feel some flexing in the wood floor when walking on it. Don't know what the subfloor will look like, may not be too bad yet. That's why I want to change to tile, don't like "yets"
__________________

__________________
Forest & Cindy Olivier
1998 Newell 45' 2 slide #486
2004 Chevy Silverado Z71
2013 RZR 570LE

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul, you have a body." C.S.Lewis


https://www.luxurycoachlifestyle.com/...php?albumid=14
folivier is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2010, 08:55 PM   #3
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default

on our vintage of coach, the floor is 2" thick. over the frame is a piece of 1/2" plywood. then furring strips that are made of two pieces of 1/2" plywood stapled together to the floor in strips. then in between the furring strips are 1" pieces of high density foam sheeting. then on top is another 1/2" piece of plywood. when i rebuilt the floor under my driver and passenger seats, i made it solid plywood under the seat mounts.

it also uses the area between the floor under the passenger seat to act as a air duct to the return air. they just left the foam out to form a channel to the duct in the floor if you have one (i dont).

when you strip the current flooring off, and before you put tile or stone flooring down, you HAVE to have an antifracture membrane on the floor as the base for the mastic for the tile/stone.

with a wood floor, you dont have to have the antifracture membrane.

tom
__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2010, 01:21 AM   #4
jwe648
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 194
Default

Tom
I bet it will smell much better!!! You should have called.. I could give you moral support at least! Got my new floor & walls in this weekend.. That was fun!

Jimmy
__________________
Jimmy
jwe648 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2010, 04:28 AM   #5
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default

if i get all the parts after my son leaves for college i may call you for help!

later

tom
__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2010, 02:22 AM   #6
encantotom
Senior Member
 
encantotom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: mesa, az
Posts: 1,375
Default

so, wally came over today to play and we finished getting my toilet in.

we put together the new flange and 3" abs pipe, cut it to length. i had cut a piece of 70 durometer 1/2" rubber to fit the outside of the flange on the bottom to create a spacer equal to the thickness of my granite and underlayment. i bought 3" #10 stainless screws to screw the new flange to the floor so it would go to the bottom layer of plywood. there are 8 of them.

i ended up using the 4" rubber coupling i got at home depot rather than the 6" piece of hard HD dayco 4" diameter radiator hose. it was quite stiff after all these years and the softer rubber of the new union made it much easer to mount to the riser i siliconed in the black tank.

with wally here it went much quicker than me hopping between the bathroom and the bay below.

with the flange at the proper height and and new gasket between the toilet and the flange, all is well.

after wally left i had to go get a new stainless mesh covered hose to connect the toilet to the source water pipe. in addition i had to put a new hose clamp on the toilet valve.

so, all is well and toilet installed with no leaks or seepage now.

i have a pretty stainless shower pan and while i was at it in the bathroom, i took some blue magic and a buffer and shined it up. looks like a mirror now.

thanks wally!

we had a great time with wally and phyllis today.

tom
__________________
2002 45'8" Coach
2008 Honda CRV toad

https://www.newellclassic.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8
encantotom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-06-2011, 06:12 PM   #7
Capnted
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: MN & FL & IN
Posts: 44
Default

I'd like to add one thing to Tom's description of replacing the toilet flange.

I discovered that the toilet leaked on the top of the holding tank when flushed. The combination hose and plastic between toilet and tank came off in my hand, so i figured it needed replacing.

When I went to remove the toilet, the 3 of 4 bolts turned with the nuts. I really didn't know how I'd get the back bolt off since it was practically unreachable. On another forum someone suggested a Multitool.

There's a choice of multitools--$199 for a good one and $29 for one from Harbor Freight. I chose HF & got the $10 2 yr warrantee. Hate to do that but I may only use it once.

I also bought a metal-cutting blade. It cut through the front bolts like butter. The surprise came with the back bolt. I found I could turn the blade to 135 degrees--facing toward me--and pull the saw. It worked great.

Not sure why they design the flanges that way--with detachable bolts. But it seems to be universal.
__________________

__________________
'76 Newell with Cummins 555
(Sold--but never picked up!)

'83 Newell with Cummins turbo. :tongue:
(Sold)

Bought a house in Florida. :bored:
Capnted is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Newell Coach Corporation or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×