Sub C 114060 crown o-ring damage...

[Marianoz]

I just notice a strange feeling when screwing down the crown of my Sub C, upon close inspection I noticed that part of the o-ring was deformed and pushed down below where it should be (I should have taken a picture). I carefully re-routed the o-ring to its proper position; however it looks like it was damaged.

I have read that waterproofness comes from the thread itself...should I let it be? Watch was purchased new last November, so it is under warranty, but I really don't want to wait for over three weeks to get it back.

I have included pictures (I improvised using my jeweler's loupe and my iPhone 5!). I am including a picture with the crown screwed down and the o-ring.

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[kilyung]

Looks like the gasket was over compressed. Water resistance comes from the gaskets not the threads. I'd send it in for repair.

[SWISSAHOLICS]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Looks like the gasket was over compressed. Water resistance comes from the gaskets not the threads. I'd send it in for repair.

x2

[Marianoz]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Looks like the gasket was over compressed. Water resistance comes from the gaskets not the threads. I'd send it in for repair.

Yeah...I have the feeling that would be the consensus...to go for service.

I went for a dip in the pool last weekend and I was concerned about my watch leaking. I always preach not to over tighten the crown...when I popped the crown today it just felt different!

[kilyung]

Originally Posted by Marianoz

I went for a dip in the pool last weekend and I was concerned about my watch leaking. I always preach not to over tighten the crown...when I popped the crown today it just felt different!

You just want to finger tighten it to where it stops moving. You don't need much to seal the crown.

Sadly I'm not sure this'll be covered under warranty. RSC will probably also want a full service to reinstate the warranty.

[Marianoz]

A closer look...kind of our of focus, but yeah...looks pretty bad. Driving to my AD in five minutes.


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[KBM]

Definitely send it in for a service. Good luck, I hope warranty covers it!

[landroverking]

Not good for the china doll sub.

[Marianoz]

It's at the AD already, they say I should get it within the week. They will drive it to the service center tomorrow, I am lucky to have one so close.

The AD's comment was...oh boy, you certainly strangled the o-ring...so I doubt warranty will cover it. They xeroxed my warranty card, so I will keep my fingers crossed.

Interesting side note, the AD gave me a first edition of the Rolex magazine that just came out....very nice.

[cop414]

That ring looks pretty wonky, hopefully they'll just replace it and not need to do anything else other than a pressure test. Keep us posted.

[Marianoz]

Originally Posted by cop414

That ring looks pretty wonky, hopefully they'll just replace it and not need to do anything else other than a pressure test. Keep us posted.

Tim, the problem was that I did go into the pool. I did not get any condensation on the crystal, so I am assuming that it didn't leak. My kids and my brother are still laughing at me. I always tell everyone to "make sure they screw down their crown but to not over do it"...very ironic.

[cop414]

Originally Posted by Marianoz

Tim, the problem was that I did go into the pool. I did not get any condensation on the crystal, so I am assuming that it didn't leak. My kids and my brother are still laughing at me. I always tell everyone to "make sure they screw down their crown but to not over do it"...very ironic.

Hopefully all will be okay, let us know. This just really sucks. Any idea how it happened? I guess that there is a possibility that the ring was defective but you'll probably never know the real story. Waiting to see what RSC says... fingers crossed.

[Andad]

Providing the other internal stem seals are OK no water will enter the movement but I would have that fixed.

[Marianoz]

Originally Posted by cop414

Hopefully all will be okay, let us know. This just really sucks. Any idea how it happened? I guess that there is a possibility that the ring was defective but you'll probably never know the real story. Waiting to see what RSC says... fingers crossed.

I think it is either a classic case of over tightening to the point I damaged the o-ring, or perhaps a foreign object got caught in the thread and ruptured it. A more remote third possibility is that the o-ring was defective and had a "hump" or something like that that made it prone to get caught on the thread.

The RSC will almost certainly return the o-ring to me, so I might be able to give it a close inspection and perhaps post pictures.

[Marianoz]

I was surprised to get a call after only one day telling me that my sub was ready !!! RSC replaced the o-ring under warranty. On top of that, they gave me the old o-ring and one of those green Rolex pouches that usually are given with a full service. One thing I noticed was that the crown was screwed in very tight...thought it was odd as I think that is how I damaged the o-ring to begin with.

I looked at the old o-ring and it looks much worse than I thought. It appears to have a bump (not sure if it was like that or if I put it there). Also, it is pretty evident it was pretty badly damaged. It is hard to see in the pictures as I don't have a macro lense, but it has a long crack.

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You can see the damage right in the middle in the picture below

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You can see the crack from 12:00 to 2:00. You can see also damage at 3:00 PM in the picture below.

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Really happy I have my Sub C back.

[badgtho]

What's most likely is that the o ring had swelled or was slipping slightly and then bound.

[Cc1966]

Good deal. I suspect that the damage was caused by improper oring placement during manufacture and not by you over tightening the crown.

[Marianoz]

Originally Posted by badgtho

What's most likely is that the o ring had swelled or was slipping slightly and then bound.

I was at the beach and it was very hot when this happened. You are right, perhaps the o-ring had swelled.

[kilyung]

It appears something got lodged next to it when the crown was open. When you closed the crown, it tore the seal. Of course it's all speculation. Good to see it back on your wrist.

[mrbill2mrbill2]

Nice for Rolex to cover operator error!

[cop414]

Wow, that didn't take long, happy to hear everything got sorted out quickly as well as no cost.

[TPLGT]

Nice to hear it all worked out...no cost to you.