Replacing Dometic Toilet Seal

[JudyJB]

I have a Dometic toilet, and the seal needs to be replaced. The toilet is no longer holding water, and there is an odor escaping through the seal. The flush mechanism is working fine, so only the seal needs to be replaced.

I was given an estimate of $350 a couple of months ago from La Mesa RV in Fort Myers, which I think is ridiculous. I am considering ordering or buying the seal from the manufacturer and replacing it myself.

I understand this involved unbolting and removing the top part of the toilet, but I think I can lift it myself. Then I would just have to replace the seal and re-bolt the toilet down. Naturally, when I questioned La Mesa RV about the price, they gave me a big story about how heavy the toilet was, how it could take at least a couple of hours, and how you never know what you will get into, etc. etc. to rationalize the price.

Has anyone done this yourself? How long did it take you and how hard was it?

[Bethers]

Judy, when mine was replaced, I was in panic mode because it was leaking and scared me. A nice tech came out (mobile) and I paid very little. La Mesa charges ridiculous hourly rates - and takes too long to do almost all of their work (and I bought my rig from them - but I am under warranty on things so will continue using them). I watched the guy do mine and could have done it myself. It took very little time and was easy to do. Can't hurt to give it a try.

[brendac]

When I had a problem with the toilet seal I thoroughly cleaned the seal with a small brush like an old toothbrush and then applied a very thin coating of plumbers putty. This fixed the seal and now I do this as part of my maintenance every 2 months. I still have the same small container of plumbers putty that I bought 8 years ago for $6. Whatever you do, do not use any petroleum products on the rubber seal.

[snowball]

my husband used to do this yes you have to unbolt the toilet move it and replace the seal I think the seal was about 35 here in Q
he then would soak the old seal in something can't remember what to clean it and it was ready to reuse the next time the seal was
leaking...think he did this about every other year or so!!! I think I'm about due oh he only reused it once the next time it was replaced
yes it is a doable if your back is up to it... a friend just went and replaced the toilet cost more than the seal though
sheila

[avalen]

When I had to work on my toilet, I Google you tube and watched many videos to work on the toilet.
I actually ended up replacing the whole toilet.

[MelissaD]

RV Toilet Gasket Replacement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi3TRivsNlQ

Dometic Toilet Seal Kit
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/it ... -kit/16454

Looks pretty easy.

[JudyJB]

Thanks for all your good advice. I've done some more research, and I don't think I did a very good job of explaining the problem. The toilet is not leaking around the bottom. The water in the bowl is leaking down the drain into the black water tank around the ball valve seal. The is the thing that at least in my toilet rotates in order to flush the toilet. The flush ball thing seems to be OK--just the seal around it that is leaking.

At first I thought I would need to pull the whole toilet and take it apart to fix the ball valve seal. I am hoping I can fix it without all that mess or trouble. The first thing I am going to try is Brendac's technique of cleaning it with a toothbrush and then putting on some silicone lubricant. This was also mentioned in a couple of posts I found in a Google search.

If that does not work, I am going to try pulling the rubber seal out from the top of the toilet. The Dometic site said you could pull the seal from inside the toilet with the valve open and then stick a new one in with the ball closed. We shall see. I think before I do that, however, I want to make sure I have a replacement. Someone posted somewhere that you could try just turning it over and sticking it back in. So the first thing is to buy a replacement from somewhere or order it from Dometic and have it sent somewhere I can have it on hand, just in case. Also, since I am going to be at Midway Campground in the middle of the Tamiami Trail for a couple of weeks, I will wait until I am back nearer RV repair places to attempt it! Scary to go without a toilet, so I want to be near somewhere I can drive to and yell "HELP!"

It's a very small black thing so it should not cost much. I can at least try the cleaning right away, at least as soon as I find the silicone grease I think I have. I had some in my condo but don't know if I brought it along.

[OregonLuvr]

I had this same issue with the seal. Got some good advice from my RV repair fellow. Judy try coating the seal with vaseline. I do this every couple of months and it works GREAT. I am going on 8 years now and have not had to replace the seal and it just keeps on working LOL

karen

[JudyJB]

That's going to be my first step, Karen, except Dometic says to use silicone grease instead of vaseline. Wish me luck!

Not being able to keep water in the toilet makes it a lot harder to keep clean, plus I think fumes are seeping up. I want to get this done before I have company in a few weeks.

[snowball]

I've been thinking for a few months that I need to replace my seal...but I just realized that it's been
working and the only thing different was that I cleaned it really well with Shaws Paw's I think is the name
at least right now it's been holding water
sheila

[monik7]

I'm thankful for this thread. I've known for some time that my toilet wasn't holding water. Today I had to go to 3 stores before I finally found silicone grease. The first ones all pointed me to silicone sprays that all had some petroleum in them. I finally found it in the plumbing dept. at Lowe's. I applied it after cleaning and it seems to be working. I'm going back to my storage tomorrow and hopefully it'll still be working. So thanks to all for the useful information.
Sandi

[snowball]

so this is going to be one of the dumbest questions I've ever asked on here and I've asked some
where do you put the silicone grease? pictures are good
sheila

[JudyJB]

Not sure if all RV toilets are the same but mine has a white circular thing (ball valve) that opens when you step on the foot pedal. It rotates to the side letting the waste and water drop into the tank. There is a black rubber seal it slides around on that is supposed to keep water sealed in the toilet. Except wTer in mine just drains down even when the ball thing is closed. So you are supposed to put silicone grease around the black rubber thing and on the ball so it slides easily and seals better.

If I can get the parts and end up having to take the top part of the toilet bowl off I will take pictures of each step if for no other reason than making sure I can put it together again. Still waiting to hear if camping world has parts. Had trouble getting part number.

I think most toilets are in one piece, but mine has two pieces--top and bottom. Top is just bowl. Bottom is ball thing and pedestal. There is the usual gasket on the pedastal that seals it to the floor and another where the two halves bolt together. Dometic instruction said I can pull sealon top Half out from inside but I am wondering about that.

[Rufflesgurl]

Do the same as Karen. Make sure the seal is real clean and put vaseline around the whole seal. Has worked in my MH since the first time the toilet wouldn't hold water. I have a 2007 Class A.
Good luck.

Linda

[MelissaD]

Need to be careful of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) on rubber as it will breakdown the rubber over time.