Seal Advice

[mk1-mark]

We finally got Adam's new engine into his Cambridge bodied A7 Special at the weekend.  One thing we did notice though was that there is already a bit of oil being chucked about by the front pulley seal.  This is currently the normal felt type.  I was wondering if anyone knows of a lip seal conversion for this area.  It strikes me that a modern lip seal & easysleeve would be a far more robust option than the current set up.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, mark F

[dickie65]

Did you soak the seal in oil for a few days before you fitted it ?
If you fit a felt seal dry it will fail almost straight away the engine starts.

[mk1-mark]

I didn't build the engine. It was built by a well known specialist. The seal is well soaked. I just reckon a sleeve & lip seal will be a better option.

[John Mason]

Are you referring to the oil seal on the front of the camshaft where it comes through the nose cone casting. My Ruby has one. It was like it when I bought The car 20 years ago and I don’t know who supplied it. I do know it works well it is more like a grommet than a seal having rubber rings each side of the central seal to keep it in place.

John Mason.

[Stumpi]

The felt seals are too thick I reduce them by a third and fit dry with silicone sealer to hold in place .Then using a syringe inject oil into the felt the next day.
Andy

[mk1-mark]

Great tip on the felt thickness. I had a good look last night & don't think the recess is deep enough to take a lip seal unless the case is machined. Not something I'm prepared to do at the moment, so I think I'll try Stumpi's method.

Thank you. M

[David Grear]

I use seal number CR 9960 or National 474250
The size is 1.00 1.686 .250
These work well as long as the pulley is not worn or the front housing that the felt wears on.

[Charles Levien]

Did you soak the seal in oil for a few days before you fitted it ?
If you fit a felt seal dry it will fail almost straight away the engine starts.

I use seal number CR 9960 or National 474250
The size is 1.00 1.686 .250
These work well as long as the pulley is not worn or the front housing that the felt wears on.

Here’s another way which works well -  I speak from experience having suffered a few times with oil chucked out by the fan belt pulley.
As I see it the felt seal is designed to remain stationary and the problem starts when the felt rotates with the pulley. So the solution is to stop this happening — but how. My solution is to  clean the seal housing carefully ie degrease it and then superglue the dry clean felt seal into the housing. I make sure the pulley is smooth where it fits into the felt. 
Obviously everything gets saturated with oil once the engine is run for a while but the felt seal does not rotate with the pulley — at least in my experience.

[mk1-mark]

Thanks for the great advice & tips. Just shows I'm not the only one who hates oil leaks

Much appreciated.

M