The busted O-ring trick that saved my Saturday shift

Was stuck on a Cessna 172 fuel leak last weekend and nothing was working. Pulled the same line off three times before I remembered an old mechanic telling me to hit the O-ring with a tiny bit of silicone grease before seating it. Put it back together with that trick and no more drip after 5 minutes of running. Anyone else got a random fix like this that feels too simple to actually work?

3 comments

3 Comments

wood.faith6d ago

You're spot on about "old guy superstition" - I used to think the same thing until I was working on a fuel selector valve on a Piper Cherokee. Grease on the O-ring felt like cheating but it seated perfectly and saved me from having to order a whole $80 rebuild kit. Now I put a thin coat on any rubber seal before I install it, especially on stuff like oil filter gaskets where a dry twist can ruin the seal. What other old timer tips have you accidentally proven right?

jennifer8336d ago

Damn @wood.faith, $80? That's wild. I wouldn't have believed grease could save a whole rebuild kit either until I saw it work with my own eyes.

avery_jackson6d ago

Hit the O-ring with a tiny bit of silicone grease" is exactly the kind of fix I used to roll my eyes at. Thought it was just old guy superstition. But I tried it on a stubborn hydraulic fitting last month and it worked perfectly, no more leaks.