Leak no more - tales from the toilet zone

janetb · 12-12-2006, 07:56 PM

We had a leak from behind the toilet, as I posted on the 07 SE sub forum, and thought I'd do the follow up here--in the toilet zone!

The problem was a compression fitting that was cross-threaded so it couldn't be screwed on tightly. The water came out in a small but steady stream, seeped under the partition, and saturated about a square foot of the bedroom carpet on the other side. This only happened when the line was pressurized. Terry had to remove the toilet to rescrew the valve on correctly, and now it's working as it should. Ta da. Easy fix.
Because it had been absolutely pouring buckets for a couple of days, we were worried about problems with vents, roof etc, but so far we are nice and water-tight.
So nice to have such a boring issue to report on.
Janet

clancy_boy · 12-12-2006, 08:02 PM

Good News - quite the handy man.

Happy Camping

janetb · 12-12-2006, 08:20 PM

Yes he's quite handy. Actually he's a bldg. contractor, and as you can imagine he has the honey-do list from hell waiting for him every weekend. No problem getting him to work on the Safari though! I have a feeling there are a few more of you like that out there...

Janet

boonskyler · 01-07-2007, 05:11 PM

hi, i have the same problem, the leak behide the toilet, only happened when the line was pressurized. do you think Terry would mind to give a step by step to fix the problem.
thanks
boon.

janetb · 01-07-2007, 09:14 PM

Hi Boon,
Terry here (Janetb's husband)--The leak was where the supply line connected to the toilet. There wasn't enough room for me to get a wrench on the compression nut, so I had to remove the toilet for access. Only two bolts hold the toilet--just pop off the plastic nut covers first. The supply line on our Safari is flexible, so I was able to move the toilet away from the wall just enough to loosen and rescrew the compression nut so that it was threading properly, and then tighten it. Before you reseat the toilet check for leaks. No wax ring is required. I was surprised that the toilet only weighed a couple of pounds.
Good luck!
Terry

CA Streamer · 01-07-2007, 09:23 PM

Janet\Terry,

Did the leak occur only when connected to city water, and not when running from the storage tank? If so, you may want to use a water pressure regulator available at any RV store, or online. RV water systems are fairly low pressure so it's advisable to use one so you don't blow out the water lines.
Steve

janetb · 01-07-2007, 10:07 PM

Hi Steve,
We're not sure if we had a leak with city water hook-up since we didn't use the toilet until our dry-camping shake-down, using the pressure pump. But it was definitely a result of cross-threading and not a pressure issue. All is good and dry since the fix, and a fairly significant amount of use, pressurized and otherwise.
We were told our Safari has a built-in pressure regulator, although we're thinking of adding one at the spigot site just to make sure the supply hose doesn't have an aneurism..
Thanks for your input!
Janet

boonskyler · 01-17-2007, 10:41 PM

thanks Terry/Janet, when the weather is nice I will see if I can remove the toilet to see if I can fix the problem.
thanks again.
boon.

Fyrzowt · 01-18-2007, 01:03 AM

I had a similar leak on the '98 Safari. It leaked at the plastic supply fitting behind the toilet - mainly under street pressure, even with a pressure regulator. I was able to tighten mine without removing the toilet, problem solved.

Fenghuang · 05-14-2007, 02:25 PM

Thanks Terry/Janet for your helpful post. We just discovered the same toilet leak at the end of our 5th trip with our 2007 23' Safari. Luckily, the leak was resolved with some hand tightening of the plastic supply fitting.

Larry

**jcanavera** · 05-14-2007, 03:51 PM

Another leak that sometimes occurs is with the spray rinse hose that comes on the Classic toilets. If the nut that attaches the hose to the toilet is loose or cross threaded, you will get a water leak every time you flush the toilet. It's one of those that normally you will not see drip until you step on the pedal.

Jack

lewster · 05-14-2007, 04:57 PM

If you have access problems to loosen and re-tighten that nut, try a crow's foot socket. They usually provide me access in the wierdest places where a conventional wrench won't fit.

BTW, if you have any of the 'newer' plastic water fittings, they should only be hand tight as the threads DO NOT DO THE SEALING on this fitting. There is a saniprene seal on the inside of the fitting and pressure from the threads causes it to seal against the male fitting. Too tight in this case WILL cause more leaks.

....and possibly crack.