Where do you buy orings?

[LavaRand]

I need an o-ring for the idle air valve in my van. It's a pretty big one about 3 inches in diameter and about 3/16 thick.

They won't sell me just the o-ring, I have to buy a whole new valve for $100. Which is BS. So I'm trying to find an oring. But all the hardware stores around here don't have a proper oring cabinet, and if they do have orings, they can't even tell me what material they are, and they definitely need to be gas and oil resistant.

 

[Hall]

I need an o-ring for the idle air valve in my van. It's a pretty big one about 3 inches in diameter and about 3/16 thick.

.... and they definitely need to be gas and oil resistant.

Problem with measuring the old o-ring is it may be stretched (at least for the diameter). Measuring the cross-section, what you're estimating to be 3/16", should be accurate. You could try and measure the o-ring groove if you have suitable measuring tools. O-rings are standardized too so get the best measurement you can and look up suitable sizes. As I said above, o-rings stretch so if you find a p/n that's slightly smaller I.D., you should be able to stretch it to fit and this is normal.

Why does it need to be oil and gas resistant ? This is part of the throttle body, isn't it ? It only see "air", I thought.

 

[97prizm]

Car Quest before the merger would sell parts like that individually. Mot sure if you have any specialty shops near by that can.

 

[SubLGT]

Locally: Ace Hardware
Online: McMaster-Carr

 

[Kurtatron]

https://www.theoringstore.com/store/

Wow this place is neat! Thanks for the post! I may need these in the future for AC lines!

 

[paulo57509]

McMaster is typically the first place I look. I'm fortunate that their standard shipping is two days lead time. However, my experiences with o-rings for automotive applications is that in most cases, they're not a standard size. Honda is the worst for using non-standard size o-rings.

Harbor Freight o-ring assortments (I have two) are Buna-N (so they state) which is "okay" for most auto applications; I've used them in a pinch but most times what's in the box doesn't fit anything automotive related. But they come in handy on those pinche Delta faucets.