updated 8/7/2022
What: Kohler Highline Classic K‑11499–0 (bought and installed May 2017) toilet fill valve (Fluidmaster Universal 400A OE part — came with toilet) issues
Problem: Months of slow-filling toilet along with a loud squeal noise when float raises with water level. It finally quit filling altogether.
When: August 2022
Supplies: 242 Toilet Replacement Seal, a cup
Cost: Around $4 and gas
Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Process
1. Turn off the water supply (bathroom got a nice cleaning after this)
2. Grab the fill valve cap and twist left to unseat it (you might have to grab the stem of the whole valve to prevent the entire valve from spinning. Here’s a video)
3. Now to unhook the cap from the float. Give it a nice, careful tug, being aware that it is plastic.
4. Examine the fill valve seal for debris. Remove it carefully and inspect underneath for debris. Clean it out. In my case, there was debris underneath that was causing a blockage and therefore no water. It must have been there for a while and then finally occluded the opening.
5. Similarly, inspect the cap-less top of the fill valve for debris.
6. Now that everything is off, let’s go ahead and flush the fill valve itself. Apparently, over the years pieces of Teflon tape, or minerals or other debris can accumulate in the valve. Fluidmaster sets the lifespan of a fill valve at around 7 years (mine is about 5 years old). SO, grab a cup and place it upside-down over the fill valve.
7. Turn on the water supply and flush for about 10–15 seconds (according to Fluidmaster)
8. At this point, you would replace everything and test it out. It was no longer filling slowly after the debris was removed, so BOOM, solved. BUT…the float mechanism no longer worked…as in, the fill valve kept filling without stopping. Oh, great. I busted it somehow. Removed everything again and found that the original seal looked kind of chewed up around the float pin.
9. Turned the water supply back off, and ran out to the store to grab a 242 Toilet Fill Valve Seal (and other stuff just in case, so I wouldn’t have to run out again, but didn’t need them in the end)
10. Had remove it all again and here is an image of the old seal. If you look at the center, you can see how rough it looks where I tried to push it in with my fingernails and probably from general wear and tear
11. Here’s a side by side of the old seal and the new one
12. Slide the seal onto the cap
13. Now to reassemble it all. Line up the cap assembly with the float assembly stem groove and snap it in
14. Place the now-attached cap back on the valve. Remember that you have to turn right to replace it, so place the cap accordingly so that none of the parts interfere with each other
15. Twist it to the right and, YAY, it’s back on!
16. MOMENT OF TRUTH. Turn on the water supply. You should immediately hear the water filling up. Now lift up on the float mechanism. If the tank quits filling, you are DONE, and it is REPAIRED! GREAT JOB!
