Injector O-ring lube

[Wild one]

Kind of curious on what you'd use to lube injector O-rings,engine oil / gasoline / WD40 / Vasolene.
I've usually used WD40 or engine oil,but i've been told gasoline should be used instead.
Supposedly it evaporates and seals the O-ring to the fuel rail and manifold better,and doesn't attract dirt/dust like the other lubricants do.
Curious on what you guys think

 

[HEMIMANN]

Gasoline isn't a lubricant, it's a solvent.

I've never heard of lubricating o rings on fuel lines. Service manual?

 

[mikeru]

I’ve used motor oil, grease, and saliva lol. Honestly I haven’t been that concerned about what I’ve used on o-rings as long as they aren’t dry. I can see gas working fine. It’s like most any liquid. It provides a measure of lubrication when there’s a sufficient amount.

 

[Wild one]

Gasoline isn't a lubricant, it's a solvent.

I've never heard of lubricating o rings on fuel lines. Service manual?

They'll slide in dry,but it's usually reconmended to lubricrate them with something,even gas works as a liquid lubricant if you slide the pieces together before it evaporates.
I've seen where gas has become the reconmended lubricant in alot of shop manuals,especially in the Japenese and European world.Once it evaporates the o-rings stick and seal better,at least that's why i'm assuming it's getting to be a popular injector o-ring lubricant

 

[caulk04]

Hawk tuah or whatever is handy. I don't see any reason to over think it.

 

[metalchewy]

Silicone/dielectric grease is what I used the last time around.

Same thing that I use on the 2" PVC pipe o-rings.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Vaseline or dielectric grease

 

[HEMIMANN]

In that case, on other pressure vessels with o-ring slide seals (chemical sprayers, etc.), I exclusively use Plumber's Silicone Putty / Paste.

Why? It is non-dissolvable by most liquids, polar or non-polar, minimally affected by temperature, and doesn't age-harden. It also protects age-hardenable 0-ring materials like NBR common in fuel systems, keeping them soft longer (i.e. doing their job of sealing).

In an emergency, I break out Mobil Bovine Bowel Lubricant.

 

[Wild one]

In that case, on other pressure vessels with o-ring slide seals (chemical sprayers, etc.), I exclusively use Plumber's Silicone Putty / Paste.

Why? It is non-dissolvable by most liquids, polar or non-polar, minimally affected by temperature, and doesn't age-harden. It also protects age-hardenable 0-ring materials like NBR common in fuel systems, keeping them soft longer (i.e. doing their job of sealing).

In an emergency, I break out Mobil Bovine Bowel Lubricant.

Silicone's not usually reconmended on fuel injector o-rings as it doesn't really mix well with gas.
It's issue is the fact it doesn't really dissolve well ,and if some of it does make it into the fuel stream it's more likely to plug the screen or the little orifices in the bottom of the injector

 

[NCRaineman]

Last time I did anything with injectors we just used a dab of motor oil. It's such a minute amount I wouldn't even worry about it attracting "dust" or anything. It's not like you are assembling the engine in a sandstorm.

 

[Wild one]

I can see using gas as the lubricant on the upper O-rings when you stick them into the fuel rail,as you're doing them one at a time,so it's easy to still have the O-ring wet when you slide it into the fuel rail,but using it on the bottom O-rings i don't see being all that feasable,as trying to keep 4 O-rings lubricated/wet as you slide all 4 injectors into place at once probably isn't as do-able.
I heard the gas trick from 2 import techs, it does make sense on the upper O-rings though

 

[RamDiver]

Silicone's not usually reconmended on fuel injector o-rings as it doesn't really mix well with gas.
It's issue is the fact it doesn't really dissolve well ,and if some of it does make it into the fuel stream it's more likely to plug the screen or the little orifices in the bottom of the injector

Do you believe there's much risk of silicone contaminating the fuel line if is used sparingly?

The lubrication of O rings is always a controversial topic in the scuba world when working with pure O2 gas and high-pressure mixed gases.

.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Silicone's not usually reconmended on fuel injector o-rings as it doesn't really mix well with gas.
It's issue is the fact it doesn't really dissolve well ,and if some of it does make it into the fuel stream it's more likely to plug the screen or the little orifices in the bottom of the injector

It doesn't mix well with anything. That's why I use it. If it dissolves, it will make it into the manifold. Because it doesn't, it won't.

 

[Wild one]

Do you believe there's much risk of silicone contaminating the fuel line if is used sparingly?

The lubrication of O rings is always a controversial topic in the scuba world when working with pure O2 gas and high-pressure mixed gases.

.

Personnally probably not much risk,but if it ever did make it's way into the injector and mess up it's flow volumn or spray pattern ,especially if you're working the engine hard,you might kiss a piston goodbye in a hurry.
I'd never use it on a fuel injector O-ring myself,i'd probably use spit if i had nothing laying around to use long before silicone.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I've never changed a gas injector - always use top tier gas and occasional concentrated slug before oil change. Never an issue running rough.

Diesels, on the other hand.....

 

[Wild one]

I've never changed a gas injector - always use top tier gas and occasional concentrated slug before oil change. Never an issue running rough.

Diesels, on the other hand.....

I'm a touch **** on maintence,lol. Anytime i have a fuel rail off i usually give the injectors a clean.I've never cleaned the injectors on my 300 and it's approaching 71,000 miles,so i pulled them to clean them,right now they're soaking in injector cleaner,and in a day or so,i'll give them the carb/choke cleaning,and they'll probably outlast me,lol.
Hey i get bored easily

 

[Sherman Bird]

Gasoline isn't a lubricant, it's a solvent.

I've never heard of lubricating o rings on fuel lines. Service manual?

GM SPECIFICALLY instructs in their service info to use motor oil on injector o-rings for Port fuel.. The GDI seals, on the other hand are to be installed dry. The injector o-rings that I used on this 2002 Ram 1500 4.7L during engine replacement were lubed with oil. Worked great.

 

[Sherman Bird]

I'm a touch a n a l on maintence,lol. Anytime i have a fuel rail off i usually give the injectors a clean.I've never cleaned the injectors on my 300 and it's approaching 71,000 miles,so i pulled them to clean them,right now they're soaking in injector cleaner,and in a day or so,i'll give them the carb/choke cleaning,and they'll probably outlast me,lol.
Hey i get bored easily

I use PEA (polyehteramine/ AKA Techron) in the gas tank to clean my injectors. It works well!

 

[Wild one]

I use PEA (polyehteramine/ AKA Techron) in the gas tank to clean my injectors. It works well!

I do too,but i'm also not against cleaning them every so often

 

[Sherman Bird]

I do too,but i'm also not against cleaning them every so often

Prolly a good idea!