Used to think thread sealant was snake oil, now it's all I use on sensors

For the longest time I was a tape-only guy. Every temp sensor or oil pressure sender got a wrap of PTFE tape and I torqued it down. But I kept chasing intermittent faults on a 2019 Freightliner cascadia, two sensors in a row reported weird readings until I actually pulled them out. The tape had shredded and tiny bits were blocking the port. A older tech at the shop in Tulsa told me to try a thread sealant paste that stays in liquid form until it cures, no shredding at all. I was skeptical, figured it was just a gimmick, but after using it on the next three sensors the readings stayed rock solid. Now I only use the tape for straight pipe threads that see high heat, everything else gets the paste. Has anyone else run into tape bits messing with their sensor readings or am I the last guy to figure this out?

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murphy.aaron27d ago

Hate to be the contrarian here, but I've had the opposite luck. Paste can dry out and crack over time if you don't get the torque just right, and then you're chasing the same ghost. Tape has never given me a false reading, even on older Cummins stuff, so I'll stick with it for now.