Getting seals onto bolts

[JHZR2]

Hi,

Did my valve cover gasket project yesterday, but it was getting too cold to mess with this part of it. The valve cover on my 91 318i has long bolts which connect it to the head. These bolts for whatever reason have a rubber seal on them at the head. The bolt has a little knob on it before the thread, to keep the seal and the washer associated with it on.

These seals are probably original, hard, and not coming off. I figured that they would be OK to replace one or a few at a time in the future.

So, any ideas how to get the old ones off and the new ones on? Granted they were about 32 F on the car, so they may be smaller/tighter than one would expect.

 

[The_Jeff]

I'd get in there with a pick like a dentist pick and peel it around like unmounting a tire. Heat will benefit as would lube... vaseline even.

 

[JHZR2]

Im pretty sure that the bolts are coated with some kind of zinc. Noticable as where it is thinner/gone there is surface rust as opposed to the consistent coating.

So picking at them isnt my first choice due to removal of coating.

Heat is OK. But I dont think I want to heat the new ones - granted they get hot when installed, but perhaps more consistently, and not finagled every which way.

oil vs vasoline vs grease? Thoughts?

 

[GMBoy]

I would cut the old one's off and use a lube to install the new. As you say, they are old and hardened with age. The new one's are probably more pliable and will stretch enough to install.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
I would cut the old one's off and use a lube to install the new. As you say, they are old and hardened with age. The new one's are probably more pliable and will stretch enough to install.


this - sharp utility knife, then a spritz of WD-40...

 

[mechtech2]

Cut them off.
Use lube and warm up seals for installation.

Another option is:
A light smear of RTV on the old ones - top and bottom.

 

[Smoky14]

Cut old ones off with a pair of diagonal cutters and lube the new ones.
Many valve cover gaskets are replaced because of leakage when all that was necessary was to replace the bolt seals.