Rubber Parts in Older Cars

[parimento1]

I never understood why in high stress application some manufacturers still use buna-n, eg Vanos seals, cam mounted PS pumps, etc when a high quality Kalrez, PTFE or Viton seal will last almost forever.

You answered your own question haha.

 

[Ws6]

It would seem that an older car would become a money pit, almost solely due to deteriorating rubber components. For example, a transmission starts to shift funny due to hardened or cracked o-rings, gaskets, etc. Brake system leaks because of cracked rubber brake lines, coolant and vacuum leaks due to deteriorated hoses, valve cover gaskets leaking, rear main seals, A/C leaks from o-rings, etc. Has anybody encountered this yet?

In my own experience, I have experienced a weeping oil pan and transmission pan, spark plug well seals, valve cover gaskets, and of course, hoses.

It depends. I had a 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee like this. I also had a 20 year old Mustang with none of this except the transmission, and the AOD was known to be a piece of junk. It ran well until we changed transmission fluid, which wrecked the slushbox along with 7K rpm manual shifts (crate motor), lol!

 

[Trav]

You answered your own question haha.

I sorta figured that.

 

[zzyzzx]

I figure that all the leaks my old car have help keep the Baltimore City rats from chewing on my wiring.

 

[jeepman3071]

I think a bigger issue on a lot of newer cars (I know on Hondas particularly) is the biodegradable wiring that mice love to chew on due to the wire casing. I forget off the top of my head what it is made out of, but I know the number of chewed wires has exponentially increased with the use of this material. My grandparents have a CR-V that sits most of the time and the mice have caused some major headaches with the wiring, even with traps and deterrents.

 

[JHZR2]

Strange, I guess my 40 year old Mercedes diesels didn’t get the memo that all the original rubber on them should have failed...

 

[Trav]

Back in those days the Germans were using quality virgin materials, starting around 1995 things changed. A friend of ours works for a large raw plastics material manufacturer that supplies much of the German auto industry, she was saying how they now have to use x% of recycled materials that are nowhere near as durable as the old products they previously used.

Back in the day MB and BMW spec was for higher quality eg PA for hubcaps and opel, Ford and others spec ABS. Again we see another agenda driven reduction in quality.

 

[Gebo]

I am a believer in 303 for all my plastic and rubber parts.

 

[DGXR]

My 25 year old Corvette is all original and rubber parts show signs of aging. Vacuum hoses underhood are deteriorating, a few gaskets are weeping, and a bushing is clunking somewhere in the rear suspension when taking off from a complete stop. It still runs and drives great, and the fluids seeping is so minor that I don't have to add anything... no oil needed between changes, no coolant loss, etc. I top off the power steering once every 2-3 years and that's it.

 

[SeaJay]

Father time always wins.