seth25•7mo ago

Had a weirdly great day on the line thanks to a borrowed tool

We were chasing a phantom hydraulic leak on a King Air 200 for two days. My lead, who's been at the Anchorage hangar for 30 years, handed me his old-school stethoscope probe. Found the seep at a fitting behind the actuator in about 15 minutes. What's your go-to tool for finding those hard-to-spot leaks?

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holly_garcia7mo ago

That old stethoscope trick is a lifesaver. I keep a cheap mechanic's stethoscope in my box just for that. For clear fluid leaks on a clean system, I swear by the UV dye and a good black light. It sounds simple, but it turns a tiny seep into a glowing trail you can't miss. What kind of hydraulic fluid were you dealing with, and did the stethoscope work because it was a pressurized line or could you hear it dripping into a belly?

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grant5407mo ago

Love that UV dye trick, @holly_garcia.

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knight.taylor7mo ago

Ever try baby powder for a slow oil drip?

4

the_val7mo ago

Yeah, the UV dye trick is solid for finding those tiny seeps.

4