Toilet Flush Handle really stiff and tightening?

[buckaroo]

My Mum's toilet handle on the flush seems to be stiffening up?

Toilet seems to flush fine, but its stiff to pull down, and hardly rises back into place (its the old style lever type on the cistern)

Have included photos of the inside of the cistern.

I watched some DIY videos, which said to replace the rubber seal at the bottom to rectify this, but looking at her toilet, it looks more complicated, with a water-saving device fitted?

I am thinking of maybe undoing the screw on the handle (inside) and seeing if it is indeed just the handle thats stiff on its own, and loosening it with WD40?

Could this just be the handle 'furred' up and stiff or something more complicated?

 

[dishman]

That is a traditional syphon pump flush. Very reliable, hardly ever break, and they rarely leak.

Much better than the modern crap with a push button and a rubber seal which often end up with a slow leak.

The hook that attaches to the plastic lever connection gets pulled back down after each flush. But the handle needs to be nice and freely moving to do this smoothly.

Yours looks so rusted I expect there is a lot of friction.

I would just replace it with something less crusty.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/euroflo-toilet-cistern-lever-chrome/8973g

or

https://www.toolstation.com/cistern-lever-d-type/p54925#reviewTab


Homebase will sell them too if you prefer to go somewhere like that.
https://www.toolstation.com/cistern-lever-d-type/p54925#reviewTab
Just take a note of how the current hook is aligned and how much it gets pulled up. Try and replicate that when you hook it into the new armature.


Meanwhile, buy some strong limescale tablets and stick one in the cistern. Should clear a lot of the gunk.

 

[dishman]

Actually, you may also want to check how high the water fills. It may be going too high. There is a line in the cistern it should stop at.

You use the little nut adjuster on the end of the long float arm to adjust when it closes the valve to stop water coming in.

It looks like it may have been set too high in the past, or is still set too high now.