I managed to fix my toilet, or at least put off having to replace a bigger part by replacing a smaller part.
I initially thought I’d have to replace the fill valve because the hose from the fill valve to the flush valve was coming loose. Turns out it’s a part for the flush valve that the hose goes through called a stop cap, that had broken off because it’s almost a decade old. I screwed out it back on but the threads were knackered after all that time so it would just keep coming off.
I thought it had also snapped off a bit of the part that it actually screws onto, and would thus have to replace the entire flush valve (which apparently involves taking everything else out of the tank and then unscrewing the tank) but the new stop cap apparently has enough to thread onto to actually stay on when I flush the toilet.
Admittedly a new flush valve isn’t that expensive, $18 vs. $5 for the stop cap, but if I don’t have to do something I’ve never done before to fix it, that’s well worth it. Hopefully it lasts.
Update.
Evidently that wasn’t the only issue.
The flush valve is a tower variety, so the flush handle is connected to a long plastic piece that hooks into the tower, and when you pull the flush handle it lifts the tower thing to flush the toilet.
That long plastic piece was evidently a little bit knackered and was making it require more force to flush the toilet (which is what broke the other thing in the quoted part) and evidently it decided to give out and the entire thing broke off this morning after a flush.
Easy enough to find a new flush handle, but
goddamn, complicated to get back on. It’s reverse threaded, meaning you have to turn the mounting nut the wrong way to loosen it which the thing I was reading failed to mention. I ended up having to use pliers to slice through the rest of the little bit of plastic to get the arm off, and then just slide the mounting nut (made of also shitty plastic so it was peeling off as I was trying to remove it) off to get the old handle out.
New handle is made of sturdier stuff, nice. Unfortunately it involves two pieces that had to be at
the most precise angle to slot together and finding that angle was great fun. I found it, then had to take the pissing thing off again to figure out where two little clips go to lock it all together and in place.
At least the toilet flushes with much less force required now, which should hopefully mean the new piece from before doesn’t disintegrate in a month.
In other plumbing news; I think I have to replace my kitchen faucet, as replacing the faucet head didn’t actually fix the problem I thought it would. Bugger.
TL:dr toilet handle replacement is complicated, but it works now.