I called racing beat and they told me that the atkins rotary coolant seals can be reused on low mileage engines that havent overheated. He said he has heard of many people doing this with good results because atkins seals are more difficult to install (they are from experience) but their also stronger- IS THIS TRUE???

 

Yes. They are called Teflon Encapsulated Combustion O rings and can be reused. They are a little harder to install because sometimes they need to be stretched by hand slightly, otherwise they will keep popping out of their grooves on the irons. Hylomar really helps keep them in place, but if they are a tad too small, they refuse to stay put. So you just loop one end around the Eshaft on the engine stack and give it a gentle tug.

 

New water seals aren't *that* expensive. And the stock ones, contrary to popular belief, work well. Just don't overheat the motor - on the FC, that's not terribly hard to do.

Most water seal failures I've seen have been from corrosion in the water passages, and the support behind the seal is eroded away. That's just poor maintenance - you GOTTA change your coolant once a year.

BTW, I think the reason for the poor fit is they're not metric. I know the Atkins oil seal O-rings are not metric, and are a nightmare to install. FC3S.org has metric high-temp oil o-rings that are way better, and probably cheaper too.

Dale

 

Someone found out they can be sourced from McMaster-Carr for under $8/each.&nbsp That's cheaper than stock.&nbsp I use an "original" set from Hayes and had it rebuilt twice, reusing them no problem.&nbsp I paid $25/each from Hayes before - never again!


-Ted

 

Hi Reted, could you post the contact info for McMaster-Carr and part number if you don't mind. I am going to need a few more of them. I think I pinched one on my rebuild.

 

http://www.mcmaster.com
The part number is 9319K239.
The Teflon-Encapsulated Silicone O-ring is AS568A Dash No. 175 .
I hope that makes sense!

dcfc3s is right about it taking some time to install.&nbsp I use a minimum of Hylomar, but it doesn't take me that long to get them to stay.&nbsp The hardest positions to install is the one that goes down on the center housing and the last one on the rear housing, as most people install them upside down on rebuilds.


-Ted

 

Thanks man you are awesome! The one I pinched was the one that I stretched too much. Its teflon casing was ruptured in about five places on the inside and outside edge.

The other ones, which were too small but would stay in place with a lot of persuasion, got tweaked on their inside edges, hinting at mild pinching as well. I had a real fog machine on my hands today when I got the engine running. I am seeing that the O rings must be an exact fit, OR ELSE . . .

 

Well I might throw these questions out while I still have your attention Ted. Why are these O rings Teflon encapsulated? Looking on the Mcmaster site I found plain Telfon O rings which are good to 450 degrees while the telfon encapsulated silicone rings are good to 400. So there must be a reason for the teflon outer coating . . chemical resistance perhaps?

And also, why not just buy O ring cording and cut your own? Couldn't you cut an exact fit and use silicone sealant around the seam, positioning the seam in the usual place between the intake ports and top of the housing?

I know there was a thread on this subject about six months ago. I need to search more.

 

Ever try twisting pure Teflon? It's stiff as ****!&nbsp You thought you was having problems with the Teflon/silicone stuff, you should try the 100% Teflon one!&nbsp The silicone center really makes the o-ring a lot easier to handle.


Ah grasshoppah...you're getting in the secret sh*t deals here.&nbsp If I tell you, I need to kill you. You're thinking along the right lines...



-Ted

 

Thanks. I've had to resize O rings before by cutting them and reinstalling them so the joint was a clean butt seam, secured by the crushing pressure on the cord which translates to some squishing together when installed. This was on a 30psi fuel pressure regulator O ring and it has never leaked. The differences between that application and the coolant seals are corrosive coolant, corrosive exhaust gases, and high temps - these throw a curve into cord selection.

I'm not an engineer yet and will just install the 4 new teflon encapsulated O rings which I just ordered thanks to your tip. Maybe some day later I'll get to play with stuff like making my own seals.

 

I need some new ones