I have a VAFM with some sort of obstruction or maybe bearing issue on the flapper. It will only move a quarter inch and won't budge beyond that. I want to open it up to figure out what is stopping it, but I'm having difficulty. I removed the 15 or so screws on the bottom of the unit and cut away the silicone all around the edges but I can't get that bottom plate to come off. Before I just pry harder with a bigger tool I wanted to see if any of you have had this problem and know of some missing piece of info I need. The metal is fairly soft so I stopped when it felt like I was more likely to damage the metal than get the plate to budge.
I have seen numerous articles on popping the plastic cover to access those internals, but haven't been able to find anyone who opened this thing up from the bottom to expose the flapper. Any help or pointer in the right direction is appreciated!