in any case, a round o-ring is right there,
and .........installed it with a high quality silicone sealant., on the
o-ring and the flange where it goes against the head.
Any o-rings installed dry leak after a while in my experience.

scott
www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "pdooley" <psdooley@VERIZON.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 6:34 PM
Subject: Re: seal at lower t-stat housing to cyl head

> I'm no authority on the matter, but experience has shown me that old
> orings
> compressed long enough can look like flat seals.
>
> Any chance of mistaken identity?
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> azsun99
> Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 9:03 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: seal at lower t-stat housing to cyl head
>
> This is on a '90. The ETKA calls it a seal and when I removed the old one
> (it was
> leaking), it was a flat seal, not an old hardened o-ring. When I asked for
> the seal at
> a VW dealer in San Diego, they gave me an o-ring. It does not appear to be
> anything
> special, but I am concerned with the high heat in that area.
> Has the flat seal been superseded by the o-ring?
> Thanks,
> Jerry in AZ