Pedal rubber seals revisited yet again

[powerwagontim]

I know this has been hashed over before, and knowing I would be needing to do it I paid attention. Here is the score. I set up my backpacker stove with a pot of water. Dropped in 2 seals. Seasoned to taste, oops, wrong type of seals. Added the RUBBER seals, and brought them to a good rolling boil. Left them cooking for a minute or so, and tried one out. RIP. Dam, OK, tried another one. RIP, double dam.
Remembering a tip that Vtdeucedriver had posted about soaking them in Lectromotive parts cleaner, I tried that. It bloated all up, and things were looking good, until RIP. I took my 4th and last one, slit it on the side and superglued it back together around the brake. It seems to be hanging in there for now.
I know that cutting and glueing isnt proper, but what the heck am I doing wrong. The 2 that ripped after boiling were repros from Midwest Military, the one I tore after soaking in solvent was an NOS seal. The one that I glued together was also NOS.
I am all ears for the right way to do this.
Thanks,
Tim

[Kurt Hirte]

Hey Tim, I heard ,"soak in brake fluid". Never tried it but you never know

[powerwagontim]

Hi Kurt,
I hadnt heard that but am willing to give it a try!
Thanks,
Tim

[k8icu]

Seeing that they are rubber I would try using silicone spray. Silicone will soften them up and lube them up to slip on. The big question is how did the factory put them on the truck? If the answer is on the shaft before it was installed then maybe the answer is to take the pedals apart, put the rubber on and reassemble...also a good time to do some PM while your at it?

[MSeriesRebuild]

Wish I had a positive reply for your question, but the facts are like this; I hate to say it, but John's repros are no good at all, and yes he has been made aware of this by me and some others. Why they are still being sold after he was made aware of this, well you'll have to direct that question at him. VPW has the same inferior product, and yes they know it also. My assessment is they are not made from the correct type of rubber compound for the application; but this is my opinion and is not scientific evidence.

If you boil the NOS seals in water, they will go on easily most of the time. Once in a while one will rip; but their track record has been pretty good with us. The repros from Mid West and VPW will rip every time, no matter which installation approach is taken.

If you have or can find any NOS ones, they are the best bet.