Use the rubber coated ones and the Permatex to help hold it.
You will get galvanic action between the steel and aluminum with the
non-coated ones. That's why the OEM ones are rubber coated to prevent that
corrosion from happening. You don't want the cases to corrode and get pitted
in the seal area after time goes by.
A 2 stroke motor has retainer plates to hold the seals in as they have
pressurized bottom ends, not a problem with a vented 4 stroke crankcase.
--
John
"anything you say can & will be misquoted & used against you"
'01 FLHR ''Red"
'04 MXZ 600ho
'99 XC700
BRC mem

"Nomen Nescio" > wrote in message
...
> Thank you all for your advice.
>
> Do you think a steel cased oil seal will work satisfactorily in aluminum
> alloy if the seal is a good press fit? I would apply a light coat of
> Permatex #1 or Permatex Aviation to the outside diameter before driving it
> home.
>
> I am working on an obsolete motorcycle. The supplier has on hand
> elastomer
> coated o.d. oil seals, but the retention in the bore is problematic. I
> don't think OEM stuff is available and he is supplying generic parts. If
> that is the case, my automotive supplier can special order any seals I
> want
> by size and type specification, so the decision can be made to go with a
> conventional metal case seal. Rubber coated o.d. is supposed to be ideal
> for aluminum alloy, but I don't see any reliability in these seals if I
> can
> literally push into place by hand with essentially no mechanical
> retention.
>