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Warning: I thought torque seal was just for show until I found a loose bolt on a 172
I used to think torque seal was one of those things guys do just to look sharp on the line, so I skipped it for a long time. Last Tuesday I was doing a preflight on a 172 at Falcon Field and spotted a cylinder base nut that had backed off maybe a quarter turn, no seal on it, nothing. The guy who owned it had been flying it weekly and never felt a thing. Now I want to know, do you all seal everything or just the stuff that matters?
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terryr464d ago
Yep, learned the hard way too. Mark everything now.
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danielwhite4d ago
Skipped it for a long time is the part that gets me, cause thats exactly where most of us start. That cylinder base nut is a good example though, cause those are known to walk on these engines and a quarter turn is enough to start losing clamp load even if it hasnt let go yet. Question for you though: when you found it, did you just torque it back and reseal it, or did you pull the jug to check for damage under the flange? That would be my big worry, cause if it was loose long enough to back off, the fretting and the stud threads could be chewed up and just snugging it back down hides the real problem. Curious how you handled it cause Im never sure how far to take it once something like that turns up.
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