Fluidmaster 242 Toilet Fill Valve Seal Replacement Part, Fits 400A Fill Valve , Black

I’ve had a toilet with a malfunctioning fill valve for months. Wasn’t sure what exactly the issue was, but didn’t feel like an entire fill valve replacement was necessary.The water would keep running non-stop after flushing, coming out of the top of the fill valve instead of the side tube, until I turned the water valve off. When I would turn the water back on, the water would come out of the side tube as it’s supposed to.So, after looking at troubleshooting articles online, I narrowed down the issue to the fill valve not sealing properly. Opening the top up, I noticed the seal was in 2 pieces, the larger ring had separated from the middle nubbin piece. I decided to try this, even without a return option, knowing that if it did fix the toilet, it would be a seriously cheap fix for an issue that’s been bothering me for months.Well, I am happy to report that this little piece fixed the issue! It was a broken fill valve seal. Replacing that one piece has my toilet working properly again, and I’m quite happy with a fix that cost me less than $2, and reduced the amount of parts going to the trash. If only all DIY fixes were so easy.If you have a toilet with a similar issue, I’d recommend checking your fill valve seal. This might be the only thing you need to replace!

This was a perfect fix for the symptoms we were having: pressing the flush lever didn't always initiate the tank refill. The tank would drain into the bowl, but the tank refill would be delayed. The obvious symptom was a strange silence, the kind which makes you think "hold up, something's not right". Sometimes it would delay by just a few seconds, sometimes by minutes. Gently wiggling the flush valve float was more than enough to trigger the tank refill, but leaving it alone altogether would result in random delays. It wasn't 'slow' like others have mentioned, it was simply a delayed action.I should probably preface this that I have a Fluidmaster PerforMAX valve, and I suspect the model 400A is mostly identical inside. (This replacement seal's packaging mentions the 400A, if memory serves.)Thanks to previous maintenance efforts, I already knew the whole "turn off the water supply, grab the unit below the float with your right hand, lifting the float in the process, then grab the cap unit with your left hand and twist it anticlockwise" process before I started. Plenty of videos out there, if you're unfamiliar with this.Once I had the unit's cap removed (but still loosely connected via the float linkage), the seal in question was already exposed. I was wondering whether I would need a tool (needlenose pliers or whatever) to pry the old one out. But nope! The old seal easily came out with just the slightest coaxing. I just made a mental note as to which way it was oriented (random chance will give you a 50% probability of installing it wrong, so be sure to look).Slip the old seal out, slip the new seal in, reposition the cap with the left hand, hold the flush valve unit below the float with my right, twist the cap until it locks into place (about 1/8 of a turn?), cautiously open the water supply valve while holding a hand just above the cap, in case I hadn't properly secured the cap (it would at least stop any gushing water from turning my toilet tank into a decorative fountain), then try flushing once and watch for any surprises. Flush it again, just to be sure you're not imagining that you fixed the problem.On examining the old seal, it looked like the diaphragm had become more or less permanently distended from the 'neutral' position. You'll know exactly what I'm talking about when you hold the old seal next to the new seal. It'll be one of those "oh yeah, now I see why this needs to be replaced" moments.I saw that someone else had written that replacing the seal took them 5 minutes. That's being really generous; I'd say the whole thing (not including the test flushes) took about 2 minutes. You don't need to remove the entire unit, you don't need to put a mop/bucket under the tank, you don't need to go grab your toolkit. No muss, no fuss. When you finish, you'll think "that was ridiculously easy to install".Huge credit to the engineers that designed this to be easy to replace.

"Everything is Hard As Heck, Until You Have Done It."These rubber "valve seals" can be relatively easy to replace.Turn water off. Lift the plastic cover. Hold the fill valve body with one hand and press the valve cover top then a counter-clockwise turn. (I saw a youtube video)Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly. In theory, just a clockwise twist.The trick is: Put thumb on the assembly and press down while you move it 1/4 to 1/2 clockwise turn.Mine came off easy. But it took a few tries to get it back on."Be Prepared!" I also ordered a new valve assembly, just in case. Nod wink!The interesting thing is this rubber part has been telling me it needed replacement for about a year.Let me explain. I have a Danco HFX120 HydroFix Toilet Fill Valve I bought two or three years ago. About a year ago, I noticed that a light spray of water was hitting the top of my tank lid. And some would drip on the bathroom floor. My solution was to mop the bath floor more often.Then, about a year later the valve suddenly refused to fill the toilet tank. I turned the water off, then back on it mysteriously filled right up. But when I flushed again, the fill valve stopped working, again.How did I live almost 6 decades without experiencing this?While I was ordering a new fill valve, I saw this part and and watched the video for replacement.When I got my new part, I had the the water and the old part off toot sweet.However it took me 5 minutes to master the "twist". But when I turned the water on, I Was Done!The blue tank valve is a brilliant kit, but It's Kind Of Fiddly. For instance, the overfill tube has valve to limit waste. This Is Water Saving Genius! And the fill tube has multiple jets that stir the tank. Downside is it may not stay still. I put brick on the hose to hold it down. Toilet tabs on the left side don't wear out too fast.So, for me it was extra awesome to fix it, I saved A Lot Of Steps.And I now have an emergency fill valve in backstock. These things are mostly plastic after all.

Priced reasonably and looks like what I needed, but I can't evaluate it because immediately after purchasing this, before I could use it, a different part of my toilet broke, so I'm keeping it with my spare repair parts.