The nuances of Porsche 356 engine building are never-ending. This weeks installment is regarding gaskets and seals. One might think that the purchase of a handy kit like the Victor Reinz Engine Case (aka bottom end) 08-18238-02 Gasket Set would be the end to all your worries. Probably not so.
First issue is that none of the vendors list the individual contents of their sets. The ones I contacted couldn’t even tell me what specific component part numbers it contained. So unless you can tell from the picture, it may or may not have everything you were hoping for.
Second are the preferences and wisdom of the experienced engine Porsche 356 engine builders who don’t really care much for some of the kit contents. There’s a whole topic called Victor Reinz seal kits: which seals to use which to trash.
Flywheel Main Seal
Let’s start with the flywheel (aka rear main seal RMS) 999.113.029.50. If you’ve got the kit, it’s the one marked “60 80 10”. There seems to be general consensus that the default “blue” seal with a double lip is bad news. Harry Pellow says not to use the Victor Reinz blue from the kit. He refers to a Goetze white silicone seal, which I’m not sure is still available. As usual, some good discussion and photos on Porsche 356 registry: Let’s Talk About Flywheel Seals. Stoddard has supplied the best image of offending lip. In short, this additional lip rubs and tears. Ultimately leading to an oil leak. The solution seems to be trimming the lip, or buying a special seal with no lip.
There is also discussion about the material. It appears Viton, a synthetic rubber commonly used in o-rings, is the most desirable, if the price doesn’t put you off. There’s a $6 VW option that supposedly does the trick, but I don’t have the knowledge to be confident with a substitute. What’s avoiding an oil leak worth to you?!
Ultimately you have some off the shelf choices, well identified again on Porsche 356 Registry topic: Crankshaft Oil Seal. I choose to support independent Porsche specialist Ed Rutherford at Klasse 356 and buy the ENM12.1 Oil Seal. Flywheel – Viton. This does not have the dust lip on the seal. No trimming needed.
Valve Cover Seal
It was nice to see some consensus on this topic as well. The 356 Enterprises Fel-Pro offering has a lot of support. It is steel core, cork-rubber composite material, no adhesive necessary. This is via Vic Skirmants, who’s a long time racer and seems to be universally respected in the 356 community.
Case Stud O-rings
Next up is the o-rings for the case bolts 999.701.006.40. These pair with the special beveled washers. Harry likes silicone better. Luckily blue that currently come in the kit appear to be the preferred silicone. Instead of the more traditional rubber.
