Toilet tank leaking on the floor after removing and reinserting flush valve

leaktoilet

I removed and cleaned the flush valve, because the toilet was running (i.e. leaking water into the bowl). After reinserting it, the water now leaks onto the floor (but not into the bowl anymore). I screwed back the valve using hand force only as hard as I could.

Questions:

  1. Is there some typical mistake that could explain this? (I'm very beginner in this matter.)

  2. Before filling the tank again, is there an easy way to check if it will leak or not? (I'm thinking of a kind of trick like putting a tire tube into water to find where the hole is.)

Here is a schematic drawing of what the valve looks like:

Basically the valve has a "stand", with threads on the outside, which screws into a counterpart, with threads in the inside. On the threaded part of the stand there is a gasket as well (which I swear I did not forget to put on :D).
Something like this.


     +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
     |                                                                          |   <-- tank
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                                                                          |
     |                      \___________________/ <-- threaded "stand"          |
     |                        ________________ <----gasket                      |
     +--------------------------+           +-----------------------------------+ 
                                =============
                                =============  <--- tube threaded inside
                                =============


Best Answer

I always put a thin layer of silicone sealant on both sides of the gasket and have not had leaks, but nothing is guaranteed.