The Gaskets-to-Go Custom Gaskets Blog

While gaskets are our primary focus, Gaskets-to-Go can also assist customers with their molded and extruded rubber needs. Because of the tooling required for molded rubber parts we do have a mininum order size for molded rubber items, which can be between 300 and 500 pieces. All charges are included in any per piece price, there are no extra charges.

Most of the items we have had molded for automotive use have been made of NBR, also known as BUNA N or Nitrile rubber. This is because of its oil resistant properties and overall durability. We can also mold parts out of natural rubber (NR), EPDM, Neoprene, and more. The type of rubber required depends on the appication, and of course customers can specify whatever they want. We can also help with extruded parts, such as weatherstripping and windshield stripping for cars. I will deal with that in a separate post.

We can usually quote against an image of a part with relevant dimensions, although if a part is somewhat complicated, a drawing or the actual part may be required for a quotation. For production we will need a drawing or an actual part for use as a pattern.

The entire process usually takes from 5-6 weeks from start to finish. Tooling takes about 4-5 weeks to complete. Once complete, a test batch is run and checked to see that it conforms with requirements. If not, corrections are made. If the test items are OK, full production is usually complete within 7-10 days.

I will relate the history of one molded rubber part here, and others from time to time. This story concerns a rubber wheel that we had manufactured on our own behalf for use in a kit to repair the Magna-lite turn signal assemblies that Land Rover Series II and IIA vehicles came equipped with. Those are the old Land Rovers many of us remember from travelogues and adventure shows from the 50s into the 70s. Full disclosure: I own a Series III Land Rover.

The signal assembly contains a rubber wheel that is turned by the steering shaft, and these wear and deteriorate with time. The original manufacturer is no longer around, and spares became impossible to find (unobtainium), so we decided to make a kit to address that situation. I was able to miraculously obtain an NOS (new old stock) assembly so that we had a good pattern. The wheel was made of NBR. Here is an image of the wheel and the parts that make up the kit.

By the way, if you are a Land Rover Series II or IIA owner in need of a repair kit they are currently available from Gaskets-to-Go on e-Bay under item #150392514095. You can also order directly from Gaskets-to-Go.

Here here an assortment of other molded rubber parts we have made for customers:

Please visit www.gasketstogo.com

This entry was posted on December 19, 2009 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Molded Rubber Parts. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: extruded rubber, IIA Magna-lite turn signal repair kit, Land Rover Series II, molded rubber