A valve-maintenance record needs to distinguish a guide insert from a valve disc or a cover seal. The label “valve rubber” is too broad to tell the next person what was inspected. This guide focuses on documenting the valve stem guide bushing described in NOV's Type P maintenance booklet, with a checklist for inspection handover and parts identification.
Locate the inspection item
NOV booklet 25-101131, page 17, places the valve stem guide bushing at the bottom of the valve cover seal retainer. It calls for checking the bushing before installing the retainer and replacing the polyurethane insert if it appears worn or damaged.
Confirm that description against the current drawing for the installed assembly. This article does not establish a common insert across all Type P models or cover arrangements. It does not provide a removal, pressing or cover-tightening procedure.
Before opening the fluid end or touching components, authorized personnel must follow the site's shutdown, energy-isolation and verified pressure-release procedure. Do not open a valve cover to complete an inspection while pressure or stored energy remains.
Keep the insert and surrounding parts distinct
Use the assembly drawing to name the inspected part and its location. If the work concerns the guide insert, record that explicitly instead of marking the entire valve assembly as renewed. Keep observations about the holder, cover seal and valve components in separate fields so that an insert replacement does not silently close unrelated findings.
The following record fields are editorial suggestions. They are not additional OEM rejection criteria or a substitute for the applicable maintenance procedure.
Inspection and handover checklist
- Identify the pump by asset tag, model and serial number.
- Record the cylinder position and valve location using the site's naming convention.
- Link the installed cover and retainer assembly drawing, including its revision.
- Identify the guide bushing and insert on that drawing; record readable markings separately.
- Describe the insert's visible condition, or state why it could not be assessed.
- Attach an approved photograph with an overview that establishes location and a closer view of the finding.
- Record the disposition, responsible person and any unresolved identification question.
- After authorized work, link the procedure used and the verification record rather than closing the job with “rubber changed.”
Do not describe an inaccessible surface as satisfactory. A photograph can preserve an observation, but it does not supply a dimensional acceptance limit. If a measurement is required, identify its method and governing document; no clearance, interference or wear tolerance is supplied here.
Prepare a precise parts enquiry
The NOV 12-P-160 and NOV 14-P-220 catalogue pages provide equipment navigation. They are not evidence that the same guide insert fits both installed assemblies.
Send the confirmed equipment identity, assembly reference and observed condition with the enquiry. Distinguish a requested insert from a complete bushing or retainer assembly. Ask for the exact supplied scope to be confirmed against the drawing. Colour, appearance or a broad material name should not be used as the sole part-selection evidence.
If the drawing and installed arrangement disagree, record the discrepancy for the responsible engineer or OEM service contact. Do not choose a replacement by copying a part number from another pump's work order.
Close the record without losing open questions
Record inspection, replacement and post-work verification as separate events. Identify who has authority to approve return to service, and retain open findings with an owner. Use the mud pump daily maintenance checklist for the wider maintenance record without treating this component check as approval of the whole fluid end.
Source and scope
Primary reference: NOV, How to Treat Your Type P Triplex Mud Pump, 25-101131, ©2025, page 17, accessed 24 September 2026. The brief OEM summary covers location, inspection timing and the visible-condition replacement trigger. The record structure and enquiry checklist are original editorial guidance. No part number, interchangeability, service-life estimate or installation tolerance is claimed.
FAQ
Is a guide insert the same item as a valve disc?
Do not combine those names in an inspection record. Use the installed assembly drawing to identify the item actually inspected or requested.
When does the cited booklet call for this check?
Before installing the valve cover seal retainer. Plan access under the applicable isolation and maintenance procedure.
Can insert colour establish compatibility?
No. Confirm equipment identity, assembly reference and the specified replacement identification. Appearance alone is insufficient evidence.
Does replacing the insert approve the entire valve assembly?
No. Record that action separately from other component findings and the authorized post-work verification.