New Engine Compartment Seals Question

[FL-Frank]

We’ll be dropping the engine out of the ‘67 Beetle soon, and will replace the engine compartment seals and tar boards while the engine is out.

The new seals from WW are coated with a white milky substance that I’d like to clean off prior to installation of the seals.

Assuming the coating was applied to protect the rubber from degradation, is it
ok to remove it and what’s the best removal method?

_________________
“Tinker Toy” 1967 Savannah Beige Beetle Sedan...........Mostly Original Survivor
“Fritz” 1964 Gulf Blue Karmann Ghia Coupe...Complete Pan-Off Restoration SOLD

[seethesvt]

I believe the white residue is a release agent for the mold from manufacturing.

[67rustavenger]

You can likely remove the release agent with some house hold cleaner. Like 409, simple green and the like.

I installed one of those seals last weekend in my 67 and found that if you bend the upper lip of the channel that it lives in. You can almost get it to go in without a fight. It took me half an hour. But my car is not perfect so I wasn't too worried about a little scratch on the engine compartment paint.
Once the seal is installed, crawl under the rear of the car and look at the bottom of the seal channel. Mine looked good from the top side. But there were a few places where it wasn't completely in the channel. I used a flat screw driver to gently get the seal in the channel.
YMMV.

Good Luck.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[Cusser]

I sprayed my rear seal forward side with silicone lube before I installed the engine, so it wouldn't grab.
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[FL-Frank]

I found that rubbing the seals with paper towel soaked in mineral spirits removes the white residue build up. Now that they’re cleaned up, I’ll treat them with a healthy dose of glycerin.
_________________
“Tinker Toy” 1967 Savannah Beige Beetle Sedan...........Mostly Original Survivor
“Fritz” 1964 Gulf Blue Karmann Ghia Coupe...Complete Pan-Off Restoration SOLD

[rcooled]

[FL-Frank]

[andk5591]

[rcooled]

[Cusser]

I learn something new every day here !!!
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[rcooled]

Congrats on reaching 20K posts, Cusser!
_________________
'63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone)

[andk5591]

Gonna stop by Lowes Tuesday and snag one for the shop.....Thanks for the awesome tip....I HATE putting those seals in...
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[FL-Frank]

I’ve read on here where several recommend using the 1966 and earlier seal on the ‘67...especially if running modified exhaust. The exhaust on my ‘67 is stock, so wondering if I should use the correct for ‘67 and later seal or switch to the ‘66 and earlier seal?

Is one easier to install than the other?
_________________
“Tinker Toy” 1967 Savannah Beige Beetle Sedan...........Mostly Original Survivor
“Fritz” 1964 Gulf Blue Karmann Ghia Coupe...Complete Pan-Off Restoration SOLD

[glutamodo]

The "slot" that accept said seal is pretty much the same. You have to force that bugger in there! Now the shape of the external portion of the seal is different and the later style,... well... might block one's view of their installation progess. But once installed, I'm not convinced that the early is necessarily better than the later.
_________________
Andy T.


IMAGE NOTE: It has been noted that Chrome based browsers may have issues in displaying my vast image library, which use non-secure links and are on an FTP server. Images should still be viewable if the link is clicked though.
I do not know how to fix this. All I can say is it all works fine for me with what I use, Firefox.

[dodgerodder]

[fl59bug]

Another tool I found pretty handy for installing seals was the seal channel opener tool available from Gab-fab (I think).

That tool will open up and restore the shape to the c channel, though I suppose you could do this without it, but it may be a little tougher.

[FL-Frank]

I replaced the seals in the bug yesterday while the motor was out. The old seals were very brittle, so they came out in chunks, pieces, and bits. I found that running an exacto knife through the channels helped get all of the old material out. Luckily, the channels themselves were clean and straight so all I had to do to prep them was squirt some dawn liquid soap in them. Installation of the new seals was a breeze with the car raised on the lift and me standing in the engine compartment. All I had to do was insert the lower lip of the seal in the channel, and then push the upper seal lip into the channel using firm pressure on the screen roller tool. It took a total of about 10 minutes to remove the old seals and install the new ones.

BTW... I decided to stick with the correct for ‘67 later style seal.
_________________
“Tinker Toy” 1967 Savannah Beige Beetle Sedan...........Mostly Original Survivor
“Fritz” 1964 Gulf Blue Karmann Ghia Coupe...Complete Pan-Off Restoration SOLD

[Rome]

Good going, FL-Frank.

What has worked well for me with the whitish residue is simply a rag or paper towel sprayed with WD-40 and swipe the surface a few times. Same technique to clean grease off spark plug cables.

[Emeraldlion]

As to the earlier seal on 67-later. If you search through some threads you will find some anecdotal stuff as well as pictures that the 66-earlier seal may not close up the gap to the rear tin. Depending on your exhaust the 67 later z style seal may touch your pipes so you may need to trim