Pipe sealant or teflon tape

[Mrkentee]

Replacing brake foot valve. Pipe sealant or teflon tape? A little piece of sealant might accidentally get into the system. Tape is easier, but I don’t really trust it over the long run. ???

[Lonestar10]

I've used both so far not a problem on air/water fittings

[Rawze]

I use permatex red silicone on my pipe-threaded air-line fittings. I do not put excess amounts of it on them, but I do pack it into the threads just enough so that it seals. I have used other products of various types in the past .. but the permatex red seems to have the most consistent results for a 100% seal.

Only A very tiny amount packed into the first couple of threads at the entrance of any female fittings (no excess), and the male fitting gets threads packed all the way up.

[JimT]

Rawze, on a slightly related note, what exactly was the sealant you had me apply at the corners of my oil pan? I need to remove the pan to repaint it and that stuff worked great last time. No leaks from any corner.

[Rawze]

(08-28-2021 )JimT Wrote:  Rawze, on a slightly related note, what exactly was the sealant you had me apply at the corners of my oil pan? I need to remove the pan to repaint it and that stuff worked great last time. No leaks from any corner.

It was a non-setting (does not dry or harden) sealant. It was this stuff...
https://amzn.to/3zqe4bN

It sort of resembles sticky-wet paper. Stays tacky, even in the oil environment. Does not dry.

We packed it into the 4 corners where the block meets the front and rear structures ... where you would normally have to silicone it. It makes it to where you can re-use the oil pan gasket if needed, as they are expensive to replace.

[JimT]

Thanks!

It's worked great, no leaks in almost a year now. Didn't over do it either. Just enough to cover the area without it getting squeezed out when torqued down. It'll be interesting to see what it looks like when I drop the pan.

[Mrkentee]

I used anaerobic sealer on my oil pan. No leaks.
On todays question, I went the teflon tape route. But half of the fittings were leaking, so I got all new push-in fittings, which already have thread seal on them. Should’ve known better than trying to use the same ones again.

[Snowfarmer]

Just a side note here.... might be helpful...

All my plumbing buddies always use both tape and paste, for every single threaded joint, all the time. I always thought that was overkill so I asked a couple of them why... they all say the same thing: They don't want to give it any chance to leak, leaks suck and cost a lot of money, and cause a lot of damage.

I will admit I still don't use both tap and paste all the time, but I don't do pipe joints all day everyday either...