Fitting the engine seal

[Dveedub]

Hi All,

Does anyone have any advice or know of any useful threads regarding fitting the engine seal on an early bay?

It's been a few years since I took it all apart and now I am putting it back together I can't really visualise the best way of fitting it when I put the rear valance back on.

Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Dave.

 

[samgopsill]

i plan to fit it centrally in the valance, fit engine, fit valance and poke the sticky out bits into the channels in the engine bay

i have no idea if this is the best way, or even a good way

try it and let me know :lol:

hope this works

Sam

 

[rlepecha]

Cut the seal so the side bits are separate to the valance bit? The side ones on mine are shot again anyway, only been in 6 months but removed the engine twice which hasn't helped.

Sent from my C55 using Tapatalk

 

[Trikky2]

Cut the seal so the side bits are separate to the valance bit.

Sent from my C55 using Tapatalk

This ^^

 

[Dveedub]

Thanks for all your inputs so far and if anyone else has any other ideas, please let me know.

I think cutting the seal into three sections is possibly the only way though as removing and re-fitting the full seal every time I want to drop the engine out would be a nightmare.

I was just trying to avoid cutting up the seal as I had heard people saying in the past that it is bad to have any gaps in that seal as you can end up with heat from the exhaust system getting into the engine bay and adding to the already hot engine running temperature.
Also I don't see why the seal is sold as one piece if it is so impractical to fit it whole?

I suppose if there is a slight gap In the seal I could fill it with some kind of sealant.

Thanks again for your inputs.

Dave.

 

[dubselector]

I would not recommend cutting the seal, you will end up with gaps were the heat and worse still, the fumes from the exhaust will be sucked in. The best thing to do is make sure the channels are all free of dirt and rust an then lubricate the seal well with rubber lube or wd40 , it should then slide in and out fairly easily. As ever with seals buy the best quality you can - cheap means poor fit / more agro and replacing more often. I am sure there was someone on here that made up a tool for straightening / cleaning the channels, so well worth a search.

 

[Gman86]

Assuming you are referring to this seal

http://www.autocrafteng.co.uk/shop/split-screen-van_60/rubbers-and-seals_15/body-rubber_45/rear-valance-engine-seal-typ-2-50-67_418/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There should be no reason to cut the seal into sections, it should slide round the rear valance easily with the aid of some wd40 or silicon based spray lubricant. Done before you refit the rear valance then as you slide the valance back into the engine bay it should be easy to just adjust the to flaps to sit either side of the engine tin wear.

I am probably wrong but you might be thinking that seal also needs to go round the back of the engine sealing off the gearbox at the fire wall but that is a different rubber seal

http://www.autocrafteng.co.uk/shop/split-screen-van_60/rubbers-and-seals_15/body-rubber_45/engine-firewall-seal-1200cc-1600cc-typ-2-50-67_423" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That should idealily be fitted before the engine input back in with the aid of a little lubricant again.

These two seals do the whole engine bay surround and if good quality should not need cutting to fit. Hope that makes sense and helps.

 

[Elibomrod]

It should all fit in one piece...

Before you fit it, clean out the slot with a bit of bent coat hanger amazing how much dust oil gets stuck, if dented use a screw driver to open out the channel a bit.
Also lubricate with wd40 or grease helps no end.

Hope this helps

 

[Hodgins]

I guess it depends on how far you want to go with it. If you're going concours ,then in one piece is the obvious answer. If you're going for a normal useable van, 3 pieces work fine. Unless you have a stroker engine that runs hot maybe?
The gaps that are there really are negligible and don't cause an issue for a stock engine and make it a little less fiddly f you do need to drop the engine.

 

[Dveedub]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to post on this, as usual your inputs are very helpful and much appreciated.

I will try and avoid cutting the seal into three pieces and see how I get on with that. I will try and lever the seal into the slots rather than slide it along as I did with the seal above the gearbox and behind the engine as this was extremely difficult even with ample grease used to lubricate the rail.

Thanks again folks, merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all!

Dave.