Hey guys...turning to you for help...yet again.

Currently working on gutting my powder room so I can remodel it. I'm trying to remove the toilet flange in order for me to cut out the underlayment to put down ditra and tile with a fresh flange (it's MDF and it got wet so it has to go anyway). However, I'm unable to figure out how to remove this flange. I've tried prying upwards (not a ton of force to not damage the drain pipe) but have been unsuccessful. Not sure if the pictures will help you guys give me some ideas of things to try but I'm hoping. I read that you can cut them, but I'm not sure if this is one of those instances and I'd rather not tempt fate without a more informed opinion.

ETA: looks like it may be possible to drill out between the pipe and flange to remove that material (lead?) and then pull that flange?

Thanks!

If that is caulk joint, then yes you'll be able to dig out the lead and the oakum beneath it. It might take a little effort but the old flange should slide off. If it's a concrete floor I'm guessing the concrete is poured tight to the flange hub, so it will take a little work to get it to pull loose. To replace it, they make a repair flange that slides into the cast iron and has screws that when tightened, locks the flange onto the pipe. It's a pretty solid connection. There's a rubber gasket on the male part of the flange that slides into the cast iron creating a seal. For that reason I like to clean out the interior of the old pipe a bit and get it as smooth and debris free as possible. Hope that helps.

Yes that's helpful. There is no concrete. I suspect under the MDF is half inch plywood (like how my kitchen was).

What kind of pipe?

I had to do that with a flange on plastic pipe.  I just used a dremel and cut from the outside edge toward the pipe. There was a lip on the pipe holding the flange. You can cut into this a LITTLE and it shouldn't matter since the wax ring seals to the pipe fitting not the flange.

I had a similar issue and bought a "Flange-Off" from Amazon which worked well.  Not sure if it'll work for your scenario or not.

It's definitely metal (probably cast iron?). House was built in 1966.

This old house vid on replacing cast iron toilet flange.

Use a 1/4" drill bit to drill holes in the lead. How many? As many as it takes to get it loose enough to where you can pull it out with needle nose pliers. Then dig out the oakum. It should then be loose enough to pry all around and pop it up.

Put your old bolts back in, tighten your nuts back down, stick a pry bar over one, and under the other, and apply heat to the joint while using the pry bar to "twist" it free... once it breaks loose you *should* be able to pry it up when its still soft... Its cast Iron, good chances you have lead in the equation, hold your breath while you do it

I try to avoid removing flanges as much as possible.
Especially on old cast iron.
Even more so if they are buried in a slab (no basement/crawl space underneath to work).
There are all sorts of 'trick' extensions you can use that attach to the old flange.

Even a little damage to the line removing the flange can make the project take a
large jump in time, cost, and complexity.

Luckily you can often use Fernco couplers to repair damaged lines.

Old cast iron cracks.