Despite being incredibly flexible, silicone has some significant drawbacks. The toughness, resistance to wear, and abrasion of many silicone compounds are poor. If you seriously need an oil seal material with better strength and resistance to high temperature, the perfect option is Viton.

Also, sealant should never be used on the housing and the installation guidelines, as discussed earlier, should be followed.

Motor oils typically include a few additives which can make up between 5% and 30% of the oil. These additives help enhance the performance of the oil. Motor oils can include the following additives:

There are a wide range of oil seals to select from for any number of uses, so this guide will break down the most common seals to help you choose the right one for whatever piece of machinery you are working on.

These are comparable to type R and RST, except the outer case does not have a metal reinforcement ring. To compensate, the outside is not made of normal rubber, but a hard, heavy-duty rubber fabric. The advantage is that these types can be made in a split version. They are almost always produced to order, and made of NBR or FKM.

An overview of the different standard types of oil seals and their main characteristics is shown below.

1. What are oil seals?