How to Measure and Identify Oil Seals

How to Measure and Identify Oil Seals

How to Measure and Identify Oil Seals

Oil seals, also known as grease seals, rotating shaft seals or water seals, play a crucial role in bridging the gap between non-moving and moving objects of mechanical equipment. This guide will give you everything you need to know to choose the right one for your app.

By preventing lubricants from escaping, they protect vital parts of the machine from damage by leakage of various liquids. Everything from car engines to connecting machines uses these oil seals to remain free of any adverse inference that can cause costly and severe damage to their vital parts.

Since hundreds of different oil seals are available on the market, this guide will address types by their standard structures. 

Oil Seal Single Lip vs Two Lips

First, the oil seals covered in this guide define one lip as the inner diameter below the section. One lip is essential for seal work by having lubricant, oil or grease. Oil Seal suppliers use special codes to distinguish oil seals across the globe. Common names for lip style are 23 (two lips) and 21 (one lip).

Identify the Oil Sealing Material

Oil seals can be made from many materials today. These materials are important in helping different machines withstand pressure, corrosion and heat, among others. Viton is brown, whereas Nitrile is usually black.

It can be challenging to get it right, especially if you do not have the original machine tests. Thankfully, there are a few ways from Oil Seal suppliers in Dubai to identify oil seals from their material and structure. This can help in choosing the correct seal between hundreds of oil seals available in the market. Below is a comparison between its structure and material.

Identify the Oil Seal Structure

  1. Type A – Ball Lips Sealed

The outer diameter is fully covered for better sealing. This oil seal is fully enclosed in a rubber material and is the most commonly used oil seal. High resistance to different chemical resistance and heat cycling.

  1. Type B – Metal Oil Seals External Diameter

External metal diameter is economical for regular use. This economical oil seal exposes the metal on one side and provides a close fit between the oil seal and the bore or housing. Due to this, it has limited use and seals thin gas or liquid.

  1. Type C – Reinforced Metal Oil Seals

The structure is similar to type B with an additional internal pouch for more excellent structural stability. This oil seal is commonly used in large-diameter seals or heavy-duty engineering machinery.

  1. Type F – Garter Stainless Spring Steel  

The structure is similar to type A with a rust-protected metal pouch and stainless steel garter spring. Suitable for use with a wide range of chemicals and oils.

Follow the O-ring pattern

Polymax component numbers follow the same pattern as our O-rings – inner diameter, length and outer diameter. This is in contrast to the oil seal suppliers standard agreement, in which oil seals follow – the length, outer diameter and the inner diameter.

How to Measure Oil Seals

Finally, The only difference between one and two beaks is the extra rubber band on the oil seal, which helps prevent dirt or dust from getting close to the shaft. Identifying the lip seal oil can be misinterpreted by visual inspection only. For this or that reason, you should push the inner diameter over the seal if you feel the edge rotating slightly or give it a high probability you have a two-lip oil seal. To get the best oil seals in the industry, visit or call the experts, Oil Seal suppliers in Dubai and get professional assistance.