Spring Valley Bus meets Corvair

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Have in mind before putting all your effort into fitting seals that were bought years ago is that rubbers have limited recommended shelf lives; initial storage & then a shorter extended period if still looking OK.
Times vs rubber type can be found online. Times are best case scenarios, assuming no UV exposure, using cool dark clean conditions.

Most seals for oil/grease are Nitrile which has an initial storage shelf life of 7yrs. Fuel seals made of Viton type rubbers are more resistant so 10yrs initial storage shelf life, as is EPDM rubber which gets used with certain brake fluids seals.

Whenever I see NOS brake hydraulic parts up for sale I always wonder how those vintage OG seals will perform once pressed into actual service.
So it’s worth pausing to think before you use a borderline aged seal kit, or to get fresher ones, before you put all the blood sweat & tears in.
 
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Have in mind before putting all your effort into fitting seals that were bought years ago is that rubbers have limited recommended shelf lives; initial storage & then a shorter extended period if still looking OK.
Times vs rubber type can be found online. Times are best case scenarios, assuming no UV exposure, using cool dark clean conditions.

Most seals for oil/grease are Nitrile which has an initial storage shelf life of 7yrs. Fuel seals made of Viton type rubbers are more resistant so 10yrs initial storage shelf life, as is EPDM rubber which gets used with certain brake fluids seals.

Whenever I see NOS brake hydraulic parts up for sale I always wonder how those vintage OG seals will perform once pressed into actual service.
So it’s worth pausing to think before you use a borderline aged seal kit, or to get fresher ones, before you put all the blood sweat & tears in.
Thanks for the heads up. Viton seals are a no-no for rotating parts apparently, in the corvair world anyway, really not sure why mine only last around 4-5yrs but I’m guessing they are Chinese origin. I can’t get them in the uk so rely on parts suppliers in the USA who will ship internationally. The seal kit I have came in about 2yrs ago so I know are fairly new. Agree with vintage nos rubbers parts though
 
Thanks for the heads up. Viton seals are a no-no for rotating parts apparently, in the corvair world anyway, really not sure why mine only last around 4-5yrs but I’m guessing they are Chinese origin. I can’t get them in the uk so rely on parts suppliers in the USA who will ship internationally. The seal kit I have came in about 2yrs ago so I know are fairly new. Agree with vintage nos rubbers parts though
In my day job we make plenty of viton rotary shaft seals for some big names, so the Corvair viton remark is puzzling.
It gives almost the best thermal & chemical resistance out of all available types, but stiffens up sooner at very low temps, but I also feel like if abraded it powders away slightly easier than Nitrile, so maybe that’s been a problem they found.
 
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