Headlight cover o-ring lubricant, o-rings cracked

[74hct04]

This might sound a bit neurotic, and a bit of a long-shot but here I am again with more obscure observations...

Does anyone know whether a grease was applied to the headlight cover o-rings? Toyota Techdoc's article about reassembling the headlamp shows nothing, neither does the car's handbook.

Noticing a little condensation in my headlight (yes I know a little is normal, but I was curious as to why this one might be worse than the other side and as to which bulbs I have installed [looks like it's probably a factory-fit Toshiba on that side]) I removed my RH cover and found the o-ring to be cracked and covered in brown-ish 'dirt' which I remove with brake cleaner. I've now reinstalled the cover and (hopefully) will have a new set of covers arriving from Amayama.

Watching these two videos on 0.25 speed from the given timestamps shows:

1. These two people also have cracked o-rings (just below the person's gloved thumb in the second video, you can see 2 cracks).
2. The browny stuff probably isn't dirt, unless we all have the same soil type, but rather the remains of some grease... It was probably a bad idea to remove the rest of it since installing o-rings 'dry' can be asking for trouble...

https://youtu.be/Yx-vaoclSY0?si=fv8fa44bKOJSgsCI&t=23

 

Until the new parts hopefully arrive (Amayama are about 1/4 of the price of the local franchised dealer, but the shipping is very expensive so I am trying to combine this with another order), believing these are probably NBR rubberr I am tempted to either:

1. Apply a smear of red rubber grease.
2. Apply a smear of silicone grease.
3. Apply a smear of silicone spray with a cotton bud.
4. Leave well alone and stop fixing things that aren't really broken.

The dilema I have with the silicones are how I'd remove them if required. Silicone is supposed to be a paint-person's enemy after all and in my experience, solvents just tend to move it around rather than remove it.

Opinions or funny anecotes about swimming goggles and speedos are welcome! 🙂

 

 

[flash22]

K-Y jelly help things slip, it's also water based so just dries and is rubber safe, talc or washing up liquid also work

 

A combination of 1 and 4

[Dutchrav]

Acid free vaseline.

Used it last week for the taillight rubber. Bit sticky job but it will protect it for long time.

Do not use a spray like WD40 because rubber will get hard as plastic from it. A teflon or silicone spray will dry out in time. 

[dash]

Gummi Pflege is good for protecting rubber seals

[Big_D]

5 minutes ago, dash said:

Gummi Pflege is good for protecting rubber seals

I swear by this stuff. I use it on the door seals of by car, and even the rubber door seal on the front door of the house. It is brilliant stuff.

[74hct04]

15 hours ago, flash22 said:

K-Y jelly help things slip, it's also water based so just dries and is rubber safe, talc or washing up liquid also work

 

A combination of 1 and 4

Thanks very much. I think red-rubber might ultimately be the easiest to remove with solvents if the replacement parts are supplied dry (and thus likely to be installed that way). I have a tube but have never used it...

 

13 hours ago, Dutchrav said:

Acid free vaseline.

Used it last week for the taillight rubber. Bit sticky job but it will protect it for long time.

Do not use a spray like WD40 because rubber will get hard as plastic from it. A teflon or silicone spray will dry out in time. 

Thank you. I am not sure how/where to get an acid-free variety? I'm still a little uncomortable with using a petroleum-based product on an unknown rubber to be honest.

 

11 hours ago, dash said:

Gummi Pflege is good for protecting rubber seals

&

11 hours ago, Big_D said:

I swear by this stuff. I use it on the door seals of by car, and even the rubber door seal on the front door of the house. It is brilliant stuff.

I am also a big fan of Gummi Pflege having used it for years on my C1s. If you know the MkI [2005-2014] C1/107/Aygo well, you will know that they leak in lots of places (door weatherstrips, boot weatherstrip, antenna, rear light clusters, high-level brake light, vents behind bumper) and, once fixed, the leaks come back in time. I got so fed up of checking for leaks, then reparing and re-repairing seals that my current C1 now lives in the garage permanently and has become a 'high days, dry days, and holidays' only car. More permanent fixes are possbile but mean a never-ending series of bodges with silicone sealers etc and I've already done a few on that car. So it stays dry for my sanity and the fact that I prefer to keep my most loved cars as OEM as reasonably possible.

To be honest, I think I became the resident leak "expert" when  C1OC's forum was still up-and-running. Not a title I really wanted, but I'd invested so much time in the isuse that I decided to wage war on it.

I think Gummi Pflege is a silicone-based, water-borne product to be honest... It does a wonderful job on EPDM but sometimes leads to temporary creaking/squeeking of the seals.

This morning, after overnight storms I discoverded a leak around the scuttle access "hatch" behind the iQ's Battery, pouring rainwater onto the front of the gearbox and NS driveshaft. The panel is slightly warpded and the open-cell foam tape was saturated. A poor design choice as there's very little 'lip' moulded into the plastic of the scuttle to keep the tape dry.

Putting o-rings under the circled-in-red clips has already stopped the strut-top bearings getting a soaking as rain water was travelling down throught the clip 'pins'... I've circled blue, the 'claw' that's giving my gearbox, and driveshafts (via the wiring loom 😬) a soaking, too.

 

[74hct04]

Update: The new covers have arrived from Japan. New o-rings are pre-fitted but they are dry...

On the nearside I have been unable to (ever) remove the cover. It turns with similar resistance to that of the offside, but unlike the offside, it doesn't stop once it reaches a "keyed" part of the plastic and I can't remove it, even with the aid of moderate prying force from a plastic trim removal tool, whilst simultaneously turning. Now I have the spares to hand, I am ready to try again (once I've plucked up the courage).

Any suggestions please?

 

(I also received an OEM antenna mast - which makes me much happier with the car's look, and some trim and fasteners which I will fit in due course)