I posted this on Corvair Owners Group, but it will probably be deleted as "vendor bashing" and probably here too. But . . .

I ordered Teflon valve seals from Clark's. They wouldn't fit. Valve stems measured 0.341, inner diameter of seals measured 0.305. Clark's tech guy told me that the Teflon seals fit hard. I know. But Teflon doesn't stretch 0.036 -- I have a broken seal to prove it. He said I could return the unbroken ones.
Viton seals on order from John Sweet. Go with Viton -- from Clark's or wherever.

Dave Keillor
Rochester, MN

Sounds like you got some 5/16 stem seals instead of the 11/32. Clarks is good with their return policy but maybe they don't know these seals are the wrong ones.

I prefer the vitons myself but I'm sure you know not to use them on the exhaust side.

Regan Metcalf
Shelton, WA

REM654DPG Wrote:
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> Sounds like you got some 5/16 stem seals instead of the 11/32. Clarks is good with their return policy but maybe they don't know these seals are the wrong ones.
>
> I prefer the vitons myself but I'm sure you know not to use them on the exhaust side.

Yes,intake only. Their tech guy said I could return them for credit and order Viton. I told him I no longer had a full set -- i'd broken at least one. He said they'd refund for the five good ones. I had expected they would want to check their stock and just send me a set of Viton. Nope, he essentially told be to push harder. I gave him all the measurements including the 0.046 interference. And the fact that this is a 25K engine that's never been touched -- I bought the car new. I feel I got blown off -- quite possibly to Clark's detriment (bad parts).

Dave Keillor
Rochester, MN

Been there..., done that. Mine came from Rafee who is NLIB. So, I have five with no return possibility. I never did measure the size. I got a set of Viton's from John Sweet. Penn. to Cal. and they arrived quickly. I used heat shrink tubing to protect the seal from sharp edges. Don't get it too hot and it will slip off easy enough for the other 5 seals.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2023 01:36PM by wittsend.

wittsend Wrote:
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> Been there..., done that. Mine came from Rafee who is NLIB. So, I have five with no return possibility. I never did measure the size. I got a set of Viton's from John Sweet. Penn. to Cal. and they arrived quickly. I used heat shrink tubing to protect the seal from sharp edges. Don't get it too hot and it will slip off easy enough for the other 5 seals.

I almost certainly received seals for 5/6" stems, not 11/16". I talked to Barb at Clark's and she will check their stock and left me know. Their "tech-guy" was worthless and fell well short of what I would have expected. I gave him all my measurements -- and the fact that this is a 25K, never been touched engine.

Dave Keillor
Rochester, MN

I had the same problem
5/16 Teflon seals from Clark’s instead of 11/32


Jeff ballard
Camarillo ca

I had the same problem. In 1988?

I went with Vitons ever since! I still have some of the Teflon seals in the small parts drawer (pack rat).

Frank DuVal

Fredericksburg, VA

Clark's measure some of the seals in stock, and found them to be 0.310-0.315 (mine was 0.305). This seems a bit small for a 11/32 stem given the elasticity of Teflon. I tried mine on a piece of 5/16" drill stock (no burrs) that miked 0.311. It was a tight fit, but I could push it on with some effort. My conclusion is that either I got 5/16" seals or their vendor has a tolerance problem. No more Teflon seals for me.

Dave Keillor
Rochester, MN

No seals at all for me. Horizontal valves don't have oil running down on them. Turbo heads get Vairy HOT, guides need all the help they cab get. My 2 cents

J.O.

65 Corsa Turbo Vert
79 Honda XL 500S
69 Honda CL 160 D
2010 BMW F 650 GS
2003 Bounder 36D
2023 KIA K5 GT/GT1 turbo-AKA ZIPPY II (wife,s car)
69 Newport Holiday Sailboat
Baja 150 dune buggy cart
Coleman HS 500 UTV
2016 KIA Sorento SXL Turbo

Bethlehem,Pa

I use seals on intake and exhaust, it ain’t the 60s, modern seals let the oil in and keep the exhaust from forcing the oil out. They actually keep the exhaust guides lubed and during overlap on a performance engine keep oil out of the chamber.

1964 Bill Thomas Monza Replica Racer
1964 Spyder Street Car
1998 Honda Prelude Dirt track car
1967 Crown V8 under construction
Mike Levine
Cumming Georgia
North of Atlanta

v8vair Wrote:
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> I use seals on intake and exhaust, it ain’t the 60s, modern seals let the oil in and keep the exhaust from forcing the oil out. They actually keep the exhaust guides lubed and during overlap on a performance engine keep oil out of the chamber.

Hey mike, you using seals on intake and exhaust on your Spyder? I’m hoping to get an engine together soon, I know there are both schools of thought on valve seals, just wondering others experience with seals on both, thanks.

Rocco
65 EFI Turbo Corsa
YS113
Barboursville, Va

I will ot ever again use the teflon valve stem seals! Although with the teflon the install procedure is the key. You CANNOT just push them on or the top will break off just like Dave experienced.

When I discovered the Viton lip seals for the valve many years ago I never looked back.

Ken Hand
Handy Car Care
248 613 8586

Vairmech@aol.com

I too have teflon seals in my drawer that caused much angst before going on to something else. I don't know where they came from, I've got a lot of stuff from other people's collections.
I've probably had them for 20 years and should just go ahead and throw them out already. I'm getting better at that sort of thing, bah humbug.

Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

Like the people say use my Viton intake valve stem seals. I will have a one week sale on them for $10 a set of 6 and $4.50 shipping. I do take Paypal at js189@zoominternet.net.

John Sweet
John's Corvair Parts

jasvair Wrote:
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> Like the people say use my Viton intake valve stem seals. I will have a one week sale on them for $10 a set of 6 and $4.50 shipping. I do take Paypal at js189@zoominternet.net.
>
> John Sweet
> John's Corvair Parts

I already ordered mine through your ebay store. In the future, is there a way to order direct so you can avoid the e-bay charges, or would you prefer using ebay?

Dave Keillor
Rochester, MN

[www.autoblueprint.com]

1964 Bill Thomas Monza Replica Racer
1964 Spyder Street Car
1998 Honda Prelude Dirt track car
1967 Crown V8 under construction
Mike Levine
Cumming Georgia
North of Atlanta

Basic article. I wish it described how seals leak the proper amount of oil. It loses some credibility by claiming different seals materials are identified by color. I wish that was true.

Joel
Northlake, TX
5 Ultravans, 145 Corvairs and counting...