Tail light gasket replacement?

Dedicated to the memory and knowledge shared by Jim Mettler - All things relating to the flow of electrons in a Pinz.
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

Does anyone know of a replacement for the 710 tail lamp gasket/seal (which is no longer available)?

One of mine was soft rubber/foam (OEM I think), but the other was some rubbery abomination that was a total bastard to get off-- the lens was so stuck on so hard it seemed to be glued in place.

I had to grind down an 8d nail, removing just enough of the head so it would fit through the lens screw hole, but leaving all the head on one side so I could hook it on the inside of the lens and pull. Moved the entire machine (on a level slab) and was about to give up... but finally decided to just pull as hard as I could and if the lens broke then it broke. When I finally got the lens off (*&!@%!#), I had to remove the old seal in pieces; it was toast. What a hassle!

The OEM seal (09-80-01) is about 4 7/16" (112mm) OD and ¼" wide (6mm), so ID is about 100mm.

I've been looking for foam or rubber tail light gaskets or anything else that will work (some plumbing stuff is close),.. but before I spend more time on this, has anyone been here before and found a replacement??

Thanks...
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

BTW, here's the closest plumbing match I've found so far
Sink Strainer Rubber Washer - 4-7/16"
https://www.parksupplyofamerica.com/Uni ... ber-Washer
ChickenPinz
United States of America
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by ChickenPinz »

<following>

Both of mine were *BRUTAL* to get apart, but I mostly salvaged the gaskets. I keep watching SAV's site to see if they ever get stock again...
710K
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

I emailed SAV asking when/if the OEM ones will be available again. We'll see...

There are many places that will make custom gaskets out of rubber, silicone, etc, sometimes in small quantities. If enough people needed them if might be economical to have some made. It's a super-simple design... and who knows, SAV might be interested in enough of them to make it feasible (if they get on board, having no other source).

Off-the-shelf would be better and easier, though, if you just need 1 or 2....
User avatar
pcolette
United States of America
Posts: 1614
Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:38 pm
Location: Southwest Wisconsin

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by pcolette »

mcmaster.com has many, many o-rings, etc.

Maybe this: https://www.mcmaster.com/1302N402

1302n402_multipurpose o-ringl.jpg
1302n402_multipurpose o-ringl.jpg (38.29 KiB) Viewed 5395 times
Paul C.
_________
'73 Swiss 710M
'89 Puch 230GE
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

I thought about going the O-ring route, but both the lens and the back of the tail lamp box have thin sharp ridges that are meant to dig into the flat gasket-- to be sure it seals, I suppose. Used gaskets have an obvious line where the ridge was (see attached)... so I think staying with a flat gasket would be best. I'd go O-ring if I can't find anything else, tho...
Attachments
tail_light_gasket.jpg
tail_light_gasket.jpg (112.36 KiB) Viewed 5391 times
ChickenPinz
United States of America
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by ChickenPinz »

I don't think an o-ring is going to work well for the reasons already stated. I think it needs to be a flat squishy (low durometer) gasket.
710K
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

I heard back from SAV... the OEM gaskets are not available and "We don't know if we will be able to get them again.

Silicone seems like a good material choice, so I asked the Mason Jar people where they had their gaskets made, and it's China (color me surprised). The contact they gave me said they mold gaskets, so a custom mold would be needed and the minimum order is 2000 pieces.

For smaller orders there are many custom gasket houses that die cut, water-jet cut, etc. I asked SAV if they would be interested in joining a group purchase (maybe a hundred or two?) to keep unit cost down. Will report back.
Attachments
silicone-seal.jpg
silicone-seal.jpg (65.56 KiB) Viewed 5352 times
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

SAV says they sell/sold so few of the OEM gaskets that they are not interested.

Will look around once more for an off-the-shelf solution before pursuing custom....
ChickenPinz
United States of America
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by ChickenPinz »

If we find the right material, we can probably just laser cut what we need. Or, honestly, if we have the right material we can just cut it by hand with an exacto knife
710K
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

I don't have a laster cutter, but compass cutters/circle cutters are cheap and work way better than cutting by hand; X-acto and many others make them. I've used them on paper before, but they would surely work on rubber or silicone sheet or whatever,

Still working on some OTS possibilities, tho...
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

I bought a couple gaskets meant for dairy equipment of some sort; they're close enough to work, though I wish they were a little wider, 1/4" instead of 3/16".

https://www.dairytrain.com/store/Gasket ... -4-OD.html

The other off-the-shelf possibility was a Sioux Chief No-Putty Gasket for Kitchen Basket Strainer, Part# 290-20320, though it would take some slight mods to fit.
boeing7873
Argentina
Posts: 197
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:50 am
Location: Atlanta
Contact:

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by boeing7873 »

I have 3D printed my gaskets. I can share the files with you or if you have time, I can try to print them for you. 404 747 12 nine four Jerome
Image
Jerome
CRJ Driver
imacky
United States of America
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:36 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by imacky »

Thanks for the offer... I've got one more off-the-shelf gasket order coming, to see if it fits better. If not, I may take you up on that... either way I will report back.
ChickenPinz
United States of America
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Re: Tail light gasket replacement?

Post by ChickenPinz »

The original gasket is pretty soft -- were you guys able to find something similarly soft?
710K
Post Reply