A master tech in Nashville told me to quit chasing oil leaks with brake cleaner
I spent like 6 months at this shop in Nashville chasing a weep on a 6.7 Powerstroke, spraying brake cleaner and adding dye, guessing at seals. An old master tech finally watched me do it and just said, 'you're washing away your evidence.' He made me wipe everything down with a dry rag and then run the truck under load for 20 minutes. First pass with a UV light and the leak was obvious, it was the oil cooler gasket, not the rear main I was about to pull. I felt dumb but it stuck with me. Now I do a full clean and dry run before I even open the dye bottle. Has anyone else had to unlearn a bad habit that some old timer called out?
Honestly the brake cleaner thing is fine if you know what you're doing with it, half the old timers I know still hose everything down before a dye test. Sounds more like you were guessing at seals and throwing parts at it, which is the real habit he called out. Dry rag and a load test works but so does a good clean and some patience.