Best way to source specific parts for seikos?

[Birbdad]

I feel like i'm missing something here and this is harder than it should be. Seiko has no parts search, the spare parts companies sell seiko case back gaskets but no list of which case codes they fit, it's juts a parts number. 

I have a seiko with an 02W0 case code and after checking the like 9 pdfs in another thread here of case codes and parts i couldn't find that case code listed and no combination of google search terms really seems to turn up anything. No site seems to have the ability to search for parts by model or case code.

I just need a case back gasket for an 02W0 case but seem to be coming up with nothing. This is so bizarrely obtuse considering this is a sacrificial part that's gotta be replaced regularly i feel like i'm missing something..

Edited July 26, 2022 by Birbdad

[jdm]

1 hour ago, Birbdad said:

Seiko has no parts search

There are various databases for that, Cousins, Borel, etc. It can be that they are not updated, but Cousins will update them on request. That being said to replace a caseback gasket just measure it and order a generic, that will cost while b3ing made of the same identical NBR material. 

 

1 hour ago, Birbdad said:

 

 

[Birbdad]

2 hours ago, jdm said:

There are various databases for that, Cousins, Borel, etc. It can be that they are not updated, but Cousins will update them on request. That being said to replace a caseback gasket just measure it and order a generic, that will cost while b3ing made of the same identical NBR material. 

 

 

Ok Thanks but what on earth do you measure to make sure you get the right size?
They sell by inner and outter dimensions but i haven't found a single thing that clarifies what you measure to find the outter dimension? the inner of mine is almost 30mm

https://www.esslinger.com/watch-gaskets-waterproof-flat-black-gaskets/

There's this video by esslinger  that seems to make no sense where they measure the height of the threads of the caseback.

is the "outter dimension" the width of the part of the case back cover where the o ring sits + the width of the o ring? If you dont' have the o ring how do they expect you to get that second measurement?

I feel silly asking this here because it's such a basic question but i can't find ANY good info on it. The only thread here i could find on it the guy got an o ring that didn't fit haha.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Birbdad

[Kalanag]

It is not too complicated! When your o-ring is covered in the case or case back at the outer circumference start with the outer diameter and add 2 x thickness to get the inner. If the ring is held at the inside start there. The thickness should provide some squeeze when the back is pressed or screwed on, but not to much. The rubber material can not be compressed but only deformed. So any squeezed volume has to move sidewards and needs room for that. It‘s a good idea to purchase two or three slightly different o-rings to find the best fit. I have bought an assortment long time ago which often contains a matching gasket or at least leads me to the required dimensions.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Kalanag

[Birbdad]

30 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

It is not too complicated! When your o-ring is covered in the case or case back at the outer circumference start with the outer diameter and add 2 x thickness to get the inner. If the ring is held at the inside start there. The thickness should provide some squeeze when the back is pressed or screwed on, but not to much. The rubber material can not be compressed but only deformed. So any squeezed volume has to move sidewards and needs room for that. It‘s a good idea to purchase two or three slightly different o-rings to find the best fit. I have bought an assortment long time ago which often contains a matching gasket or at least leads me to the required dimensions.

Ok, that's surprising this measurement requires the original o ring to be present, i assumed it wouldn't because then how do people source new gaskets when they don't have the old?

But yeah that esslinger video is strange. They basically are saying you would need to buy a 2mm height  gasket which makes no sense.

But now that i know that what about sourcing specific parts from specific watches? Do watchmakers just email parts companies each time in the hopes they have that part in stock because there doesn't seem to be any way to just enter in a case code or model anywhere to find a parts number list so you have to end up scrolling through 100 pages of parts.

LIke imagine if you needed a new break disc for your car an dthe only way to get it was to scroll through 50 pages of break disks with part numbers but none of them say what car the part goes to and when you ask the manufacturer for the part number they say "Take it to a dealership and pay us to replace it :D"

Edited July 26, 2022 by Birbdad

[Kalanag]

29 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

Ok, that's surprising this measurement requires the original o ring to be present…

No it doesn‘t require the original. It does require to carefully measure the recess where the o-ring is placed.

[Birbdad]

12 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

No it doesn‘t require the original. It does require to carefully measure the recess where the o-ring is placed.

There is no recess on these apparently. It just sits flat on surface of the caseback inside

[Kalanag]

3 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

There is no recess on these apparently. It just sits flat on surface of the caseback inside

That‘s very unlikely! How is the gasket centered?

[Birbdad]

9 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

That‘s very unlikely! How is the gasket centered?

it's a flat gasket that just rests on the flat surface and is kept centered by the inner part of teh caseback where the threads are. No recess under it.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Birbdad

[jdm]

13 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

That‘s very unlikely! How is the gasket centered?

The Seiko 7S26-02W0 like the OP has uses a flat gasket, like any other regular Seiko 5. Seiko uses O-ring and grooved case on diver's watches. Both types tend to use always a same, common size.

Edited July 26, 2022 by jdm

[Kalanag]

In my opinion the o-ring is held and centered by the threaded rim on the case back. It seals against the case in a chamfered recess (pics a from a video). I might be wrong though.

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Kalanag

[JohnR725]

3 hours ago, jdm said:

There are various databases for that,

5 hours ago, Birbdad said:

Seiko has no parts search, the spare parts companies sell seiko case back gaskets but no list of which case codes they fit, it's juts a parts number. 

That's because you're looking at a online watch material house. They typically only list they sell.

 

5 hours ago, Birbdad said:

No site seems to have the ability to search for parts by model or case code

Unfortunately that's true. That doesn't mean the databases don't exist they exist you just don't have access to them.

 

5 hours ago, Birbdad said:

02W0 case code

Then your case code isn't technically correct I think it should be something like this 7S26-02W0. Usually for Seiko casing codes it's always eight digits.

A long time ago quite a few of the watch companies used to publish physical reference material for watchmakers. Seiko has quite a collection of reference material most of which I think is been scanned PDFs. Unfortunately it's all vintage.

 

[jdm]

23 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

In my opinion the o-ring

Again, this watch like many others uses a flat gasket not an O-ring. Its inner diameter is the threaded dia. of the case back, same it would be for a snap-on caseback.

Said gasket inner diameter is the most important dimension of the gasket, the others being the outer diameter and thickness. In case of flat gaskets these two may vary, but clearly are in a fixed relationship when it comes to O-rings.

When buying from a scrupolous seller like Cousins UK it's very easy to see how all this is organized and makes sense.

Edited July 26, 2022 by jdm

[Kalanag]

Got it! 

[jdm]

2 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

That's because you're looking at a online watch material house. They typically only list they sell.

Not necessarily. For example, Cousins UK on a new Seiko part request which they can't obtain will list it as unavailable. And Seiko Australia (I don't know if their database is still online) doesn't sell to individuals or indipendent repairers.

[Kalanag]

Why not go with this one?
 

[Birbdad]

3 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

Why not go with this one?
 

I live in the us so I got a feeling shipping from cousins would be prohibitively expensive. Esslinger has them and i gotta make an order from em anyways so i can have them ship everything at once. Their shipping is insanely cheap and fast.  Wow tho it is like 1/9th the price. 

Do any us people order from cousins here? Their retailer review in the us seems abysmal.  

[aac58]

Your watch uses a FH2980B02 case back gasket. The Cousins reference 29803140C gasket is equivalent and I've used it many times as a sustitute. I don't know about Esslinger or other US houses.

Edited July 26, 2022 by aac58

[Shane]

11 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

Do any us people order from cousins here? Their retailer review in the us seems abysmal. 

I have ordered from them.  I have only had one issue with one shipment and they did make it right.  To save themselves on shipping charges, they held my replacement part until my next order (frustrating).  If that is my only problem, I have no real problems.

Shane

[Birbdad]

9 minutes ago, aac58 said:

Your watch uses a FH2980B02 case back gasket. The Cousins reference 29803140C gasket is equivalent and I've used it many times as a sustitute. I don't know about Esslinger or other US houses.

Ok how on earth did you find that out of curiosity haha. I searched for literally hours for that part number in every way imaginable before i made this thread.

1 minute ago, Shane said:

I have ordered from them.  I have only had one issue with one shipment and they did make it right.  To save themselves on shipping charges, they held my replacement part until my next order (frustrating).  If that is my only problem, I have no real problems.

Shane

What was ship time? Esslinger charged me  like 6 bucks to ship a whole pile of tools and they got here in 3 days from halfway across the country. I was impressed. Their prices are all over the place though. Cousins is shockingly cheap.

[Shane]

10 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

Cousins is shockingly cheap.

Never admit to that!!!

 

10 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

What was ship time?

I can't remember (must not have been note worthy) but I'm cheep and didn't pay for express shipping.  Remember once they let it go, it's literally, out of their hands and all up to the carrier.

[Birbdad]

2 minutes ago, Shane said:

Never admit to that!!!

 

I can't remember (must not have been note worthy) but I'm cheep and didn't pay for express shipping.  Remember once they let it go, it's literally, out of their hands and all up to the carrier.

Yeah a lot of people seem to think they like to screw things up and blame it on the post. i know the very watch i'm workign on right now i had to buy twice because the post lost the first one.  I think cousins us reseller review average is like 1 out of 5 currently.

[jdm]

52 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

I live in the us so I got a feeling shipping from cousins would be prohibitively expensive.

Surely not when considering that they apply the exact actual shipping cost, and give the option to ship untracked up to a value of GBP 30. Very unlike many US sellers that don't even ship internationally, at all.

 

52 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

Their retailer review in the us seems abysmal.  

Which in light of my own and most others experience only tells how the Internet can lie when lead to. Running topic:

 

[Shane]

The issue I had was, I got the wrong part.  It was improperly marked.  Things happen and I'm not 100% accurate 100% of the time.

9 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

blame it on the post.

That are really in a bad position.  They offer several shipping options (if my memory is correct) from insured with tracking to uninsured, untrackable.  You get to decide whether or not to buy and what to pay for.  England is a long ways away and things happen, both intentionally and unintentionally at every point.

I unfortunately sell things every day.  I order and receive the things I sell.  I'm not to blame if I did my job correctly and things still happen.  But... since I'm the guy telling them when problems happen, I suddenly become the guy that not only ordered it but picked it of a shelf a thousand miles away, put it in a box, drove it across country, unloaded from and reloaded it into countless trucks and trailers along the way and just to be a jerk, intentionally dropped their pristine part on the floor.  It's not true but that's how people react to problems.

Give people the benefit of the doubt, you will be a happier person.

Shane

 

[aac58]

52 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

Ok how on earth did you find that out of curiosity haha

I looked it up at Boley. You just type your movement-case number in the search field and there you go: https://boley.de/en/case-parts/seiko/8239.7s26-02w0?q=7S26-02W0&p=0&s=10