dried seals
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,000
Likes: 1
From: henderson nevada
dried seals
Hi. I sometimes hear on this forum of the dreaded "seals dried up" because it was a garage queen speech. However, I have never heard a C5 owner admit that this happened to their car. Just curious, has this happened to anyone's current or last Corvette??? You will get points for being honest...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,575
Likes: 961
From: Communist Colorado
The "dried out seal" theory stems from way, way back when seals used to actually be made of leather! Modern autos are much less prone to having a seal actually "dry out". Seals on an engine dont see sunlight & are usually not in direct contact with the elements.
Furthermore, todays seals are made with a high silicone content lessening the chance for "dry out". Over a very long period of time seals will get brittle and can leak. This is due mostly from ozone & atmospheric conditions....again, it takes a looong time.
The reason you dont hear much on this as far as a C5 goes is because its not very prevalent. On the other hand, if you have a car that has had many heat cycles & alot of miles, I would fear leaks being more of a problem.
A garage queen has set inside a garage with very few miles on it, which means no extreme temperatures, in most cases. Combine that with todays modern materials seals are made with & I think theres a slim chance for trouble.
Furthermore, todays seals are made with a high silicone content lessening the chance for "dry out". Over a very long period of time seals will get brittle and can leak. This is due mostly from ozone & atmospheric conditions....again, it takes a looong time.
The reason you dont hear much on this as far as a C5 goes is because its not very prevalent. On the other hand, if you have a car that has had many heat cycles & alot of miles, I would fear leaks being more of a problem.
A garage queen has set inside a garage with very few miles on it, which means no extreme temperatures, in most cases. Combine that with todays modern materials seals are made with & I think theres a slim chance for trouble.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,300
Likes: 6
From: San Antonio Texas
Hi. I sometimes hear on this forum of the dreaded "seals dried up" because it was a garage queen speech. However, I have never heard a C5 owner admit that this happened to their car. Just curious, has this happened to anyone's current or last Corvette??? You will get points for being honest...
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,300
Likes: 6
From: San Antonio Texas
The "dried out seal" theory stems from way, way back when seals used to actually be made of leather! Modern autos are much less prone to having a seal actually "dry out". Seals on an engine dont see sunlight & are usually not in direct contact with the elements.
Furthermore, todays seals are made with a high silicone content lessening the chance for "dry out". Over a very long period of time seals will get brittle and can leak. This is due mostly from ozone & atmospheric conditions....again, it takes a looong time.
The reason you dont hear much on this as far as a C5 goes is because its not very prevalent. On the other hand, if you have a car that has had many heat cycles & alot of miles, I would fear leaks being more of a problem.
A garage queen has set inside a garage with very few miles on it, which means no extreme temperatures, in most cases. Combine that with todays modern materials seals are made with & I think theres a slim chance for trouble.
Furthermore, todays seals are made with a high silicone content lessening the chance for "dry out". Over a very long period of time seals will get brittle and can leak. This is due mostly from ozone & atmospheric conditions....again, it takes a looong time.
The reason you dont hear much on this as far as a C5 goes is because its not very prevalent. On the other hand, if you have a car that has had many heat cycles & alot of miles, I would fear leaks being more of a problem.
A garage queen has set inside a garage with very few miles on it, which means no extreme temperatures, in most cases. Combine that with todays modern materials seals are made with & I think theres a slim chance for trouble.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 30,578
Likes: 4,612
From: Bonita Springs, Florida
I agree with 81c3.
I bought my Black '99 Coupe last year with only 1658 miles on it and have not had one single issue with the car. It was however properly maintained and stored in a heated and airconditioned room along with many other Corvettes, collectible cars and motorcycles.
I bought my Black '99 Coupe last year with only 1658 miles on it and have not had one single issue with the car. It was however properly maintained and stored in a heated and airconditioned room along with many other Corvettes, collectible cars and motorcycles.
