Lost Spark Plug Seal

I would venture to guess from my past experience that it has lodged between the cylinders. If you have access to compressed air shoot a couple of spurts of 100psi air up from under the cylinders and head, it may pop it up to where you can see it and pull it out. Other than that you are stuck pulling the shroud off if you don't want to leave it in there.

I was a big Corvair guy and we would buy 2 sets of Taylor racing wires to seal the best so it is funny you are seeking Corvair seals to improve the VW. The cheap flat seals do not hold the cooling air in and are what is offered for many aftermarket plug wires for the Corvair and the VW engine. Many have no idea that using them causes a huge loss of cooling efficiency. I haven't found anything that seals better than the Taylor racing wires that have a boot with a half sphere with a sealing groove around the base to lock into the hole in the shroud.

@Jimmy V., I ordered a 2003 MAGNASPARK II wire set from CB. They told me they use the same wire as the Taylor set. I wanted the 90 degree ends.

I am going to see if I can suck the seal out with my shop vac.

With the seal you show I am pondering what to do about my head temp. sensor wire that comes out through the spark plug opening.

I have routed head temp wires through a drilled and grommeted hole in the cylinder tin or under the tin and back up through the engine seal. I have never routed the wire through the spark plug access hole but if I had to I would take a razor knife and cut a slit in the sealing boot and slide the wire up into it. The boot should be able to be made to snap into the cylinder tin and seal. Good luck in your work.

The problem with nearly every boot on a T1 is the intake manifolds getting into the space meant for the seal. The only option is to trim the seals, and they're already not very good at grabbing the shroud.

This seems trivial, but it's a real concern.

@Jimmy V. posted:

I have routed head temp wires through a drilled and grommeted hole in the cylinder tin or under the tin and back up through the engine seal. I have never routed the wire through the spark plug access hole but if I had to I would take a razor knife and cut a slit in the sealing boot and slide the wire up into it. The boot should be able to be made to snap into the cylinder tin and seal. Good luck in your work.

That's how I did it on mine as well.

@Jimmy V., ideally I would like the hole and grommet.  That is hard to implement with the engine in the car.  Also, the head temp wire has things on the ends that wouldn't pass through the grommet I would want to use.

Maybe I will try using a paper punch to make a rounded notch in the edge of the seal.

I agree with what Stan has posted above, the holes in the cylinder tin are not flat and the intake manifolds are in the way. I have used my bench grinder to modify the boots to make them fit tight between the hole and the intake. It is far from an easy job and a pain in the ass.

The single-port shrouds were so much easier to seal.

Jimmy, can you say more about what you did with the grinder? Did you grind through the rubber?

Stan, when you say "that's how I did it" did you mean you cut the edge of the seal for the wire?

I agree with all of you on how fussy the seals are, and that they are very necessary to keep the cooling air where it's supposed to be.

Nice tip on blasting some compressed air from the bottom, Jimmy.

I know it sucks, Michael, but pulling the engine out makes it SO much easier to work on. It isn't that bad to do on a Speedster.

To answer Michael's question, I used the bench grinder to remove rubber from the top and outside edge of the boot in the area that touches the intake manifold. I was careful to not cut into the bottom of the boot or the groove the holds it in the hole. Removing the material from the boot gives it clearance to push into place. I wish I would have taken a pic of the boot before it was installed. I hope my explanation make sense. If you can imagine, the top of the boot has been ground away without grinding all the way through. The radius of the grinding wheel mimicked the shape of the intake manifold.

I got the wayward seal out after sticking the end of the shop vac hose in the opening.  It was right beside the opening.  I don't know if it was always there or if the vacuum pulled it into that position.

Savor your victory!