This is a follow up to my “Thetford Aqua-Magic Style II Flush Pedal Flies Off”
Just putting things back together did not last long. On checking the pedal again I found a locking ridge that had been worn down so it was not too obvious. It looked like this ridge was meant to pop into the groove of the hollow pivot shaft; the one with the return spring around it. I tried to build the ridge back up with epoxy so that it would hold, but I was unsuccessful.
All things considered, this left me at the same point that Benjamin came to in his reply. I called Thetford Customer Service and ordered a replacement base for our toilet. Part Number 42135 for the white, low base (12” floor to china bowl rim) toilet. Included were a closet bolt / seal package, waste ball seal, new base to bowl screws, instructions, and attached pedal. $101.14 including shipping and possibly tax. I ordered the base on 29 July, the tag on the back of the base noted that it was made on 30 July, it was shipped on 31 July, and I received it on 6 August; just in time. Both the pedal and base showed updated features in the plastic molding.
It took a ½” wrench to remove the two flange bolt nuts and a 3/8” wrench or socket to remove the two bowl to base screws. The water connection to the toilet was removed by hand. The two new base to bowl screws were longer and had more threads per inch. The old base had a rubber shim strip between the rear of the base and the floor; the replacement did not. The base was swapped and the toilet reinstalled; it seems to be working fine. The new waste ball seal holds water.
The molded base and its relation to the upper spring end looked questionable; we will see.
Early on in 2006 this toilet came with a 3 year warranty; I think we see why that did not work out; now a 1 year warranty. The Thetford web site brags that this toilet is “entry level”. The Hankook web site brags that there model tire that Ford puts on our Excels is their “entry level”; it has the lowest specifications of two of their similar tires. See posts 32672 and 32694.
Has anyone found a drop-in reliable replacement toilet that is not so cleverly designed and is built with less plastic parts?
Chuck Sorensen
Buellton, California
2012 Excel TS
