Tighten toilet closet bolts until the bowl is stable and stops wobbling, but stop as soon as you feel firm resistance before the porcelain can crack.

Start by placing the bowl on the flange with a new wax ring and loosely hand thread both closet bolts to align the bowl. Lower the bowl straight down without rocking it and press evenly to compress the wax ring a little. Tighten each nut alternately with a wrench in small increments of about an eighth to a quarter turn so the bowl is pulled down evenly and does not bind. After a few small turns on each side, sit on the closed bowl gently or push from different angles to check for wobble; if it remains, continue alternating small turns. The correct feel is that the nuts get noticeably harder to turn and the bowl no longer moves, but the porcelain does not show signs of stress like hairline cracks or audible creaking. If you reach firm resistance and the bowl still wobbles, use a thin shim of plastic or brass under the base at the flange edge and trim flush; never add extra torque to force the porcelain.

Common mistakes include overtightening which can crack the ceramic, undertightening which leaves the bowl wobbling, and uneven tightening that stresses the bowl. To avoid cracking, stop when the nut becomes difficult to turn and the bowl is stable, and if you hear creaks or see lines, loosen and reset. To fix wobble without excess torque, add a narrow nonabsorbent shim between the base and floor at the opposite side and then retighten evenly. To prevent uneven stress, tighten the two nuts in small alternating steps and confirm stability by sitting and pushing the bowl before final snugging.

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