The leak is on the top-most (whitest) nut, where it meets the base of the tank as shown in the below photo (with an additional photo for context).
Would I be able to just throw a ring of silicone sealant between the white nut and the tank base?
Could I simply seal over this toilet leak
leaktoilet
Related Solutions
There will indeed be some type of rubber, silicone or other type of flexible materal washer thing inside the nut. The cross section picture below attempts to show how the typical compression fitting of this type works.
As the nut tightens it compresses the "rubber" part against the end of the threaded plastic piece and around the outside of the incoming water line. Leaks can arise as from this "rubber" part getting hard and inflexible. The chorine added to water can accelerate this this problem. Over tightening the compression nut will also lead to problems. Sometimes a corrosive build up on the water tube can also lead to leak issues. Usually it is combination of all three elements and everything is OK till there is some flexure in the joint and then it starts to leak.
To fix it is suggested to replace the compression nut and the "rubber" part. If the inlet tubing is corroded then clean it up with steel wool. If the plastic threaded part is stripped from previous over tightening then you will also have to replace the fill valve assembly in the tank too. You should be able to find replacement parts at hardware or home stores. Replacement parts are usually fairly reasonable in cost.
That's a fairly popular fill valve. To open it:
- Shutoff the water, you don't want a geyser.
- Lift the float to the top position.
- While holding up the float, push down on the top cap and twist the cap a quarter turn (I believe counter clockwise).
The cap will then lift off and you can inspect and clean any parts. Before reinstalling the cap, move any small parts to a safe location, get a small cup to place over the top of the valve, and turn on the water supply. This will jet water straight up from the top of the valve and clear out any debris.
Reinstalling the cap is the reverse of the above procedure. Put the parts back, position the cap back on top, lift the float, press down on the cap, and twist.
Note that if cleaning it doesn't work, it's fairly simple to replace this fill valve.
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Best Answer
To get the silicone to adhere you would have to stop the leak. This means you would have to drain the tank until there is no water to leak. A better approach would be to shut off the water, drain the tank, unscrew the water line connector, then unscrew the fill valve plastic nut. Then you can remove the fill valve. The problem is that it's tank seal/gasket is leaking. You need a new one, or a new fill valve (it comes with a new seal). Fill valves are cheap, so you're probably better off getting a new one.