I have "heard" that some repro seals may not last as long, but cannot of
course say whether this comment referred to the brand you have. Capacity
shouldn't really be an issue since you don't fill them anywhere near
full. FWIW...
Bruce Burrows had this to say:
>I have needed to replace my MGB rack seals for several years. With all
>the recent chatter here on this subject the fire is ignited and I have
>decided the time is now.
>
>So today I sought and found the new seals I had bought a few years back.
>They had been put away, out of sight and mind. Instantly upon looking
>at them I was reminded of a problem also tucked away and forgotten. It
>is re that problem, or concern, I now seek the wisdom of the list:
>
>They are not MOWOG seals. I bought these things from "ProperMG" and
>they are not English. They were made in CA and they are not exact
>copies of the originals. They will work, but the volume of each seal is
>significantly less than a real MG part. At the very least this will
>affect the rack capacity (I usually empty everything and then fill with
>whatever volume of oil the shop manual dictates).
>
>I remember at the time I received these things calling ProperMG. The
>proprietor assured me they were OK and would work. I recall being
>unhappy but I went on to other things and forgot about the problem.
>
>To describe these counterfeits a bit better, the ID is roughly correct,
>and the end diameters and overall length are close enough, but the OD is
>smaller than it should be and the "folds" are correspondingly of smaller
>volume. Also, very much different than standard, the final "fold"
>iteration (small end) is very much of reduced OD. Only God knows what
>material was used to make these things, not that the material in the
>MOWOG seals I have seen over the years stands up all that well to oil.
>These seals came in a package of two, and new clamps were included. The
>manufacturer, Starmag Classic, is not known to me.
>
>Any experience you might have with non-standard seals would be of
>interest and would help me. I do not know whether to go ahead with
>these or hold off and try to purchase the correct seals. Goodness knows
>the real effort with this job is in the labour. It would be unwise to
>proceed with these seals if list wisdom indicates they are known to do a
>poor job or to suffer from shortened life.
>
>Many thanks.
>
>Bruce Burrows
>
>'59 MGA basket case
>'60 Daimler SP 250
>'61 Daimler SP 250
>'73 MGB driver
>
>My Dart website (not my cars!):
>
>http://community-2.webtv.net/guardian45/THEDAIMLERSP250DART/
>
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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