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Thread: Lubing seals

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Posts: 1-4 of 4
2008-05-07 11:52:21
#1
Lubing seals
Just a bit of history of me, for the past 6 months I have been taught in my aircraft hydraulics that we wet our seals down with hydraulic fluid (thinner petroleum or synthetic based oil depending on the aircraft) so they seal better. Yesterday I was installing a new valve cover gasket and read in my Haynes repair manual that the sealing surfaces should be oil free or leaks might occur. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with seals leaking due to wetting down or any other input?
2008-05-07 13:18:05
#2
What type of seals are you talking about? Dynamic seals (moving parts) should be lubed to help reduce friction. In operation, they "leak" miniscule amounts to keep the sealing surface lubricated. Static seals should be dry or covered with a gasket sealer, but not with the liquid you are trying to seal. It is common on shaft lip type seals to put a small amount of grease inside the lip to provide the lube there.
2008-05-08 01:00:57
#3
the hydrolic seals that youre talkin about are probably packings/o-rings with teflon backups on both sides. or greentweed seals. these require lubrication when installing, to aid with installation and better sealing before break in to avoid excessive leakage when testing the unit. these are usually in contact with skydrol or red oil on both sides at all times. static seals are usually used to keep fluid in or out, but not both at the same time. so along with the purpose of the seal, the corresponding housings (valvecover and head), need to to be dry and clean before istallation. if not you will have.....you guessed it....leakage; which is not good when it comes to car parts/motors..
2008-05-08 01:48:38
#4
Originally Posted by natethebrown
Just a bit of history of me, for the past 6 months I have been taught in my aircraft hydraulics that we wet our seals down with hydraulic fluid (thinner petroleum or synthetic based oil depending on the aircraft) so they seal better. Yesterday I was installing a new valve cover gasket and read in my Haynes repair manual that the sealing surfaces should be oil free or leaks might occur. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with seals leaking due to wetting down or any other input?


the problem here is the fact that if the seal is wet it will not stick to the valve cover while you are installing it. if it is wet it can fall out while installing the valve cover causing a pinch or twist in the gasket.....thus causing a leak. also because if it is wet the RTV will not seal when you put it in the corners and this too will cause a leak.
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