Which leakdown tester?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,162
Likes: 2
From: Beaverton, OR
Which leakdown tester?
Hey Guys,
Stupid question of the day time . . . I need to get a leakdown tester, but I'm torn between the Summit and the Proform models (assuming they are not horrible). I'm looking for something that won't break the bank, but that also works well of course (I would rather pay more and get something better). I actually couldn't find very many testers out there. Jegs had a couple of others (Manley and Total Seal), but I wasn't sure if they were worth the extra money. My air compressor is just a small and cheap Harbor Freight jobby with very low flow from what I can tell.
Anyone have any experience with any of these, or some other one that I should consider? I just need to get the job done, but I'm sure I'll use it again in the future, so I want something that isn't throw away. I'm tired of wishing I could drive my car, so I think it's finally time to see if I need to rebuild or if I should just throw the intake back on and put new valve seals on (it's burning oil (has 900 miles on the build) and the valves looked oily to make a really long story short).
Regards,
-dath
Stupid question of the day time . . . I need to get a leakdown tester, but I'm torn between the Summit and the Proform models (assuming they are not horrible). I'm looking for something that won't break the bank, but that also works well of course (I would rather pay more and get something better). I actually couldn't find very many testers out there. Jegs had a couple of others (Manley and Total Seal), but I wasn't sure if they were worth the extra money. My air compressor is just a small and cheap Harbor Freight jobby with very low flow from what I can tell.
Anyone have any experience with any of these, or some other one that I should consider? I just need to get the job done, but I'm sure I'll use it again in the future, so I want something that isn't throw away. I'm tired of wishing I could drive my car, so I think it's finally time to see if I need to rebuild or if I should just throw the intake back on and put new valve seals on (it's burning oil (has 900 miles on the build) and the valves looked oily to make a really long story short).
Regards,
-dath
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,711
Likes: 43
From: San Antonio TX
If you can afford the couple extra bucks, the dual gauge units can be a bit more convenient in reading leakdown due to having supply and cylinder pressure readings in one location and being able to regulate the supply pressure from the tool. The single gauge units are fine too, it's just that you are reading supply pressure from the regulator at the compressor and cylinder pressure from the tool. It's not like it's a big deal either way.
I don't know if you've ever used or observed a leakdown gauge being used. It's a tedious testing process and takes a fair amount of time. It's not something you'd want do very often. Sort of the tool of last resort.
I don't know if you've ever used or observed a leakdown gauge being used. It's a tedious testing process and takes a fair amount of time. It's not something you'd want do very often. Sort of the tool of last resort.
8th Gear
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Kissimmee Fl.
If you want a really good one.....
....look here: http://www.freewebs.com/bttwracing/index.htm . A good friend of mine hand builds these from matched gauges and carefully selected components. He has two models, and both are much nicer amd more accurate than the commercially available models. 
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,162
Likes: 2
From: Beaverton, OR
gerry72 - Yeah, I was definitely going to get a dual gauge model. This isn't quite a "last resort", but I know I'm burning a significant amount of oil and I need to figure out why and I would rather spend the money on a leakdown tester and have a good indication rather than ripping the entire engine apart only to find that my hunch about the valve seals was correct . . . Price head gaskets lately, doesn't take long for that stuff to add up 
I don't think it'll be too bad to do the test, most of the instructions seem to fixate on getting the engine to TDC, which I can easily do, but I thought I'd also just loosen all of the rockers as well (then it isn't as critical) since I'll be replacing the seals regardless of what I find.
Rickracer - I'll check out his site, thanks!
-dath
I don't think it'll be too bad to do the test, most of the instructions seem to fixate on getting the engine to TDC, which I can easily do, but I thought I'd also just loosen all of the rockers as well (then it isn't as critical) since I'll be replacing the seals regardless of what I find.Rickracer - I'll check out his site, thanks!
-dath
