I grew up learning how to fix things around the house, from the simple changing a light bulb to the complex installing a ceiling fan (which almost took out my head when my dad hadn’t quite secured it and yanked me out of the way just in time). Then when I owned my own house, I taught myself about network wiring, replacing a garbage disposal, and then stereo installation. Being handy, does however, come at a price. Just because I can do something doesn’t mean I want to, but I can’t justify paying someone else to do something I can do myself. There are exceptions to this, but things like fixing a toilet don’t justify calling a plumber for $65 an hour to replace the flush handle or something like that. I don’t enjoy many aspects of do-it-yourself work, but since I have the knowledge, I do it anyway. My next little project is to figure out why the toilets occasionally run (it has something to do with the stupid chain from the lever to that plastic flap); I dread it, but I’d feel like an idiot calling out a plumber to do a simple task like that.
Those parts in the toilet do wear out. Save youself a lot of headache and go buy a complete kit for the inside (get the best quality)and spend 2 hours fixing it. One of those hours will be decifering the instructions written by someone who has never done it.