I'm hopeful that the teflon tape isn't a death sentence for my carb. I just went through this yesterday on my 51. The petcock was leaking and my research indicated that replacing it with a brass valve from the hardware store was the way to go. When I went to install it-- one of my kids had obsconded with it. So, I pulled apart the old valve, chased the threads and wrapped them with teflon tape. Reinstalled and added a gallon of no ethanol fuel to the tank. Gave my fuel filler a kiss and blew in- gas flowed to the pump so no blockage. No leaking from the valve after an hour or two yesterday.
Now I'm fighting the next battle but hope the tape doesn't come back to bite me.
