all-in-one toilet seat bolt stuck

[iclark]

I loaned a friend my impact driver because he had a stainless steel toilet seat bolt stuck.

One of the 2 came out fine, but the other one was resisting the screwdriver (the screwdriver shaft was twisting).

I could not guarantee that penetrating oil would not seep into the porcelain/ceramic and stain it.

The impact driver managed to back out the screw about an 1/8" and then (apparently) the ceramic nut broke loose. The bolt turns but does not come out.

He reports that he can look in the other hole (where the bolt did come out properly) and he can see what appears to be a ceramic nut that was cast into the toilet when it was made. There is no through hole. The toilet casting is such that the seat hinge is in a recess.

My friend now thinks that he is stuck replacing the toilet (no other options that he can see).

Any suggestions that I could give him for things to try beyond just buying a whole new toilet?

[blackhat]

Suggest to him that every bolt or thread on a plumbing fixture, or a stainless bolt you may want to loosen in the future, should have some type of anti seize or grease on the threads.

[iclark]

Suggest to him that every bolt or thread on a plumbing fixture, or a stainless bolt you may want to loosen in the future, should have some type of anti seize or grease on the threads.

Understood and agree. I will pass that along.

I will want to make sure that he does not hear it as criticism for him not taking everything apart and adding the anti-seize when he bought the house 15 or more years ago.