Seized/Rusted Bolts and Wingnuts on Cistern

[adzyp]

I need to replace the button on my dual flush and for some reason its only an extra couple of quid to buy the whole new unit rather than just the button! This part is fine, its easy to fit. My problem though is that I cant get my cistern off.

The main issue is that the plastic wing nuts just don't move as the bolts are seized up and rusty. Not only that but the toilet is in the corner of the bathroom, so on the right hand side, although i can just about get my hand in underneath there isn't really much room to fiddle around. On the left hand side i am restricted by the water pipe.

Going in through the cistern i can see the bolt heads however they are completely rusted and corroded and no screwdriver will be getting them out i don't think.

I still want to carry on with the job, not go back to just changing the button as the bolt could do with replacing in case there ever is a more serious issue that needs doing to it.

I sprayed some 3 in 1 oil on it them as much as i could yesterday but that doesn't seem to have helped in any way.

So now i'm just trying to think what my options are as i don't want to damage the toilet at all.

1. Can i drill in to the bolts through the top of the cistern or is there danger of shattering the cistern itself?]
2. I know hacksaw may be most peoples first suggestion but its just having the room to get in somewhere to do it. I could possibly try in between the very small gap between cistern and basin but i don't want the blade to scratch the good part of the toilet.
3. Blow torch is not really an option, mainly as I cant really see where i'm going and wouldn't like my head down there with it. Plus I don't own one.

I'm thinking maybe the best option is to try and remove the plastic wing nuts somehow but just not sure how with the limited space.

Has anyone else got any magical tips that will make this a breeze? Its been pretty frustrating so far!

 

[footprints]

Welcome to the wonderful world of plumbing, if only manufactures would spend another 2p or so at the factory to fit stainless steel bolts this job would be a doddle!
1, You will never drill the bolts from the top, might work in theory but in practice you will run off and chip the porcelain.
2, Yup that's the way to go but not the gap between the cistern and the pan, you need to cut with a junior hacksaw where the nut meets the underside of the pan, requires a few swear words and sticking plaster for your knuckles, wear gloves!
3, Don't even go there!

I normally can get them off with brute force and a small pair (6") of pipe grips (sometimes called pump pliers) or perhaps small mole grips. If not the hacksaw will do it some will suggest angle grinders, well as Clint Eastwood would say "do you feel lucky?" not my choice!

This sort of thing.
http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-377597/bahco-222d.html?gclid=CN2jqe_7mMYCFc_HtAodqR4AWQ

 

[adzyp]

Cheers, will give it a bash later (literally if i need to)

Was also thinking of getting the dremel on the plastic to cut that off, hopefully the bolt will just pull through then

 

[footprints]

Being plastic the dremel should work ok, in fact I would just saw up the side of the thread and break the plastic off with a pair of pliers.

 

[jono_h]

Do you need to take the ciatern off? Can you just twist the flush unit and remove it from the base, then clip the new one in?

 

[Phill Peck]

Move the whole toilet out

 

[adzyp]

Do you need to take the ciatern off? Can you just twist the flush unit and remove it from the base, then clip the new one in?

Yeah, each valve has its own base so the new one doesn't fit the old one.

All sorted now anyway, after trying to hacksaw blind and giving up, i just burnt the bloody things off! Took 10 minutes, cistern came off, all replaced and back on in another 10. Whole process itself took about 4 hours overall, nearly almost all of it was trying to get the damn wing nuts off!

 

[Agile]

Anyone reading this will now realise why a plumber needs to charge a fair bit for one of these difficult jobs.

But it may have been missed that this is one of the easiest because the wing nut was plastic!

Tony

 

[adzyp]

Anyone reading this will now realise why a plumber needs to charge a fair bit for one of these difficult jobs.

But it may have been missed that this is one of the easiest because the wing nut was plastic!

Tony

Maybe so, but when they are difficult to reach right up in the corner of the bathroom, with a sink right by your head on the other side, they could have been made of cardboard and still been a fiddly bit of work

 

[Agile]

I can assure you that if yours had been steel then you would have had a much more difficult task!

Both types are usually reached from underneath using a long adjustable spanner vertically!

Tony

 

[spareshunter]

And Tony can do it from a bus.

If the bolt goes through to the cistern, most if not all, can be removed from the top and reinstalled from there as well.