Flush valve: connection that consists of the stopper and the flush valve seat.

Flush valve seat: a brass or plastic sealant ring located at the bottom of the tank.

Lift arm: a thin metal rod inside the tank which connects to the handle (outside) and raises the stopper.

Stopper (a.k.a., flapper, tank-ball, seal, disk): the rubbery black plug attached to the wire/chain piece.

Main water valve: located on the wall near the floor, this is a knob that you twist to turn the water supply on and off.

Overflow pipe: a long, hollow tube, fastened to the bottom of the tank.

Tank: the large, oblong ceramic container that's located behind the toilet bowl and at waist-to-chest level of the person sitting on it.

2torial #0734: Learn2 Fix a Running Toilet Understand toilets The only tricky thing about toilets are all the different names for the parts. There aren't many parts, and the function of each part is easy to see and understand, but they're named differently depending on who's talking. This 2torial will stick with one set of names, but will also include the others for reference. Here's how it works: There are three basic parts to toilet function: filling, stopping, and flushing. You need these three functions working together in order for the toilet to work properly. Anytime you have a problem with toilet running, take off the lid of the tank, flush the toilet, and watch the filling, stopping, and emptying cycle a few times. This will help you identify the source of the problem. Filling: The tank is the large, oblong ceramic container that's located behind the toilet bowl and at waist-to-chest level of the person sitting on it. The tank is important for two reasons: one, it contains the water that flushes waste down the pipes, and two, it contains all the hardware necessary for filling, stopping, and emptying. The overflow pipe (a.k.a., the ball cock) is a long, hollow tube, fastened to the bottom of the tank. A narrow pipe usually snakes up the side of the overflow pipe and fills the tank. Flushing: When the tank is full and you push down the handle on the outside of the tank, the lift arm, which connects to the handle on the inside of the tank, pulls up either a chain or a thin, rigid, metal rod called a lift wire. The lift wire/chain piece pulls up a rubbery black plug that's called one of many names: the stopper, flapper, disk, seal, or tank-ball. As the stopper is lifted, the water in the tank rushes out the drain at the bottom of the tank, into the toilet bowl, and continues down to pipes to a sewer. Stopping: The process of stopping is when problems can happen. Stopping happens at the flush valve, which consists of the stopper and a flush valve seat (a brass or plastic seal which surrounds the drain). When the tank is empty, the stopper is lowered onto the flush valve seat (that's where the stopper "sits") and closes the drain, preventing any passage of water. A good seal at the connection between the stopper and the flush valve seat allows the tank to be filled up.     Step 2