henry_palmer24•9d agoProlific Poster

Spent 12 hours chasing a phantom hydraulic leak on a 737

It was a tiny seep from a line behind the aft galley, barely enough to wet a rag. We kept seeing drops on the ground but couldn't find the source for the life of us, even with dye. Finally pulled the whole galley cart assembly and found it was just a loose B-nut that needed a quarter turn. Has anyone else had a leak that was that hard to spot? I'm thinking of getting a better borescope.

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oliver9d ago

Tell me about it. Those micro seeps are the worst because they travel so far before they drip. Had one on a bleed air duct that only showed up after a full hour of running the packs. A good borescope is a game changer for sure, lets you see behind panels without tearing everything apart first. The cheap ones are useless in tight spaces, you need one with a flexible tip and decent light. Saved me hours of guesswork more than once.

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kevin_schmidt979d ago

Yeah that hour long pack run to find the seep is brutal. What gets me is when the leak path goes through insulation, it wicks the fluid away so you don't see a drip at all, just a wet patch feet away from the actual source. Makes tracing it back a nightmare.