Carb assembly and lithium grease vs. silicone

So I'm using schmuckaholic's throttle shaft seal replacement guide, and he uses silicone grease to lube up seals and o rings during assembly. Will white lithium grease work? Or is there any reason to steer clear, because I couldn't find silicone grease at my local auto parts store.

 

You can use tune up grease better known as dielectric grease. You get a tube if that and use it on your plug boots. Makes a water tight seal and keeps the boots from sticking to the plugs. It works good on the carb seals too.

 

The important thing is that you want to AVOID any petroleum-based grease on rubber parts; the petroleum attaches the rubber and deteriorates it.

 

Find a NAPA auto parts store - get a tube of Sylglyde silicone grease - about $ 6 - you'll find you'll use this stuff all over the place. Especially good with keeping battery connections and ground connections corrosion- free.

 

You can get silicone grease at Lowes or Home Depot. Look in the plumbing section.

 

Awesome, thanks guys! Favorite thing about this forum is how fast everyone is!!!!

 

Thread revival…

I’ve been using Permatex 22058 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease for just about everything:
-carb assembly (o-rings, rubber, etc)
- plug connectors
- General purpose

During disassembly of a carb yesterday I found an area where this grease met with gasoline and turned into a solid dry mass. This is no good as it was no longer serving a purpose and actually could have plugged something up if it became dislodged.

What should I be using as a general purpose grease with dielectric properties, that’s also good for o rings, rubber, etc? I’d also like it to be able to stand up to fuel and heat (carbs).

I do have some sylglyde which I use for the slide pins on my calipers. I also see various silicone greases on Amazon, some specifically for o rings, some for plumbing fittings, and more. Too many choices overwhelms me

 

I've been using red rubber grease for carbs orings and shaft seals, most recent carb I've done I used dielectric grease instead. Those grease contain no petroleum so they most likely don't react well with gas... or maybe it is the ethanol that's causing it to harden up like that? I haven't taken the carbs out to see if it messed up mines, but I only use ethanol free alcohol in everything using a carb (mower, motorcycle, weed eater etc)
Found noticeable power gain on my mower somehow and also feels like better fuel consumption.

Problem with other type of grease is that it'll most likely be petroleum base and will dry up and destroy rubber. I've done some research and only red rubber or dielectric are recommended for those... if anyone know of something else I would also like to know!

 

Maybe use dielectric for electrical connections and silicone grease for o-rings and carb gaskets. That's what I do. There is no 'one size fits all' solution.

 

Thank you for this. Sounds like I was looking for something that doesn’t exist.

Guess I’ll stick with my dielectric tune up grease but add some Super Lube 56204 silicone o-ring lube

 

Silicone grease is great, except where it isn't. In the cases you mentioned it's perfect.

 

The key point to remember is: if it's a petroleum-based grease, don't use it on rubber.

 

Especially if you don't want kids.