The TC18 is so closely spaced, "hand tight"would be just with the tips of the fingers. I agree with your theory, so I tried it the first time. It leaked. I got in there with the water pump pliers, did the eye-squinting and nose-scrunching thing, got a teensy little "bite" on the ring, and just barely tweaked it tighter. Leak stopped.
Problem is, I put a fair amount of hours on the tractor -- coming up on 700 hours in 29 months. I've had problems with the fuel filters -- they get pretty crummy in 100 hours, and the recommended cleaning is not good enough, so I have to put in a new one each time. I'll be putting in my 7th filter some time next week; that's roughly every 4 months, and I hate thinking about it coming up.
It's my only complaint about the little Chihuahua tractor that thinks it's a German Shepherd.
Problem is, I put a fair amount of hours on the tractor -- coming up on 700 hours in 29 months. I've had problems with the fuel filters -- they get pretty crummy in 100 hours, and the recommended cleaning is not good enough, so I have to put in a new one each time. I'll be putting in my 7th filter some time next week; that's roughly every 4 months, and I hate thinking about it coming up.
It's my only complaint about the little Chihuahua tractor that thinks it's a German Shepherd.