In a message dated 3/6/01 6:05:28 AM, RAlanen@AOL.COM writes: << I always smear a light coating of the Permatex Copper sealant on all 0-rings just for security. >> False security. Of all the O-rings I have had the pleasure to know in my life, the only thing I have ever heard of smearing on them is the correct assembly lube. If an O-ring fails, either the O-ring or the surface it contacts is bitched or else it is perished. If anything, the superfluous sealant might interfere with the proper operation of the O-ring. Case in point: Before I bought one van, some idiot had smeared a dollop of Permatex Blue on the small O-ringed flanged fitting on the rear of its right head. This held for a few miles of motoring pleasure until one day it let loose and turned the engine into a steam generator. When I removed the flanged fitting, I found the O-ring pinched between the flange faces and the blue goo filling all the voids. The pinched O-ring had also had distorted the plastic fitting when it was drawn to the head, so, it was useable. I spun a replacement flanged adapter out of T-6061 and installed it with a new O-ring as naked as the day it popped out of the mold. Now, it is secure. Rich |
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