Evening all, We are about to fit some new pistons and sleeves in a 3306DI engine (12H grader) and were wondering what every one else uses for lubrication around orings when pressing in sleeves in the past we have used some silicon grease not really sure if that is recommended but has done the trick. Any other advice would be handy, Thanks
Engine oil should do the trick.
Petroleum jelly aka o-ring lube
Well this maybe a little out there but I was told the best thing is vegtable oil.like peanut oil. Was told it does not attact the rubber like petroleum oil will. Then again this may hve been aimed more at those engines that use a different compound of rubber where the coolant is and another at the bottom where the engine oil contacts the seals. If I reacll Cummins, at least used to use red at the top and black at the bottom. In a 3306 the seals are all the same so it probably doesn't matter. I would lean towards a light coat of motor oil, no need to over do it and have someone think the oil cooler has failed if there is a layer of oil floating in the radiator top tank.
I haven't rebuilt a Cat engine in years but I used to use dish soap. The oil was supposed to make the rings swell and get mushy. I never had one leak and the liners seemed to go into the bore a lot easier. A service manual will tell you what is acceptable.
On some filler bands (upper liner seals) the manual always said to dip them in oil and install immediately. The oil caused the seal to swell so you had to get the liner installed pronto after dipping it in oil. For the 3306 in the 12H this is what the Service Manual says ........... Lubricate the O-ring seals, the cylinder liner, and the upper filler band before installation. Note: If the lower O-ring seals are black in color, apply liquid soap on the lower O-ring seals and the cylinder block. Use clean engine oil on the upper filler band. Note: If the lower O-rings are brown in color, apply engine oil on the lower O-ring seals, the cylinder block, and the upper filler band. NOTE: This applies to genuine Cat parts. Aftermarket liner seals/filler bands may require a different procedure. Check with whoever supplied them in that case.
On the old stuff with the black 0-rings, petroleum products were not recomended. Soap was the preferred application. I liked the old tire mounting soap, nice and thick and didn't run off.
GOJO white can red letters no grit been using it for years and never had a problem