Stumped by this toilet seat

[slowdiyer]

I'm trying to replace a toilet seat but the fixings are hidden by a plastic panel with no visible way of releasing it. The panel only moves slides slightly forwards&back and side to side. See attached photos of the top and each side. There is a small loose bolt in there from when I removed the seat but otherwise it just looks like empty plastic inside.

Is there a knack to this? Some kind of special way of holding/lifting the panel? Brute force? It's not easy to get a flat head under the plastic - just feels like I am chipping off chunks of the plastic. Thanks in advance.

 

[Wayners]

I can see caps. I can see a change in plastic colour and a break line in your picture so either end must be large plastic covers. This leaves the long plastic centre section.
Lever off cap and see what's under. I think the fixings are under another bit of plastic that slides off revealing screws...


I wondered if the top caps slide off?

 

[just pumps]

Smash the plastic if you are replacing the seat.

 

[Alec_t]

Looks like there might be a push-down tab where the arrow's pointing in the pic below, to allow the cap to slide off.

 

[slowdiyer]

I can see caps. I can see a change in plastic colour and a break line in your picture so either end must be large plastic covers. This leaves the long plastic centre section.
Lever off cap and see what's under. I think the fixings are under another bit of plastic that slides off revealing screws...


I wondered if the top caps slide off?

Thanks Wayners - attaching a closer up look here. What looks like a join at the sides of the front portion seems to fixed in place rather than liftable or slideable (they're more like tracks that held the hinge fixing in place rather than caps). Unless I'm missing something / have wrong tools - any thoughts on how you'd tackle it?

 

[slowdiyer]

Looks like there might be a push-down tab where the arrow's pointing in the pic below, to allow the cap to slide off.
View attachment 353427

Thanks Alec. I've tried pushing these down but there's no give in them - they just seem like very rigid plastic, with no visible moveable/liftable/slideable parts to them...

 

[slowdiyer]

Show

Smash the plastic if you are replacing the seat.

This might be necessary! Any tips on how to smash this without demolishing the rest of the toilet?!

 

[Wayners]

Old screwdriver and place over one end. Smack it. Force will be concentrated at screwdriver end point and crack plastic Vs wide area and break toilet.

 

[slowdiyer]

The smash it to pieces approach worked! Thanks for helping a novice out here. I'm now faced with this final boss of toilet seat fixings. Should I be twisting/prising these caps off?

 

[Wayners]

That's not the correct seat for the toilet. Was fitted first then toilet fitted which ment it was difficult to remove.

Tin snips or garden secateurs. Get at it.
Masking tape could be used so you don't scratch surface.
I'd even have ago drilling plastic to weaken

 

[foxhole]

Lever up each side as high as possible and cut off with junior hacksaw.You will need a top fix replacement.