Homemade coolant pressure tester uses shop air

[scott37300]

I posted this on another forum but thought I would share it here also. Last year I was going to do some coolant system work so I bought a stant pressure tester off ebay for 20 bucks or so that the seller said was "in good working order". When I received it I hooked it up and pumped away and no pressure would build. I checked it out and the metal base was actually eaten threw and leaked so it was garbage. Seller refunded my money and told me to just keep the tester. I ended up buying another one that worked and have been using that since.

The other day I was looking at the matco site and came across a tester that they have that you use shop air instead of pumping. So I got to thinking that I have a gauge and a hose and end that hooks up to the adapters from the stant that was junk. Also have a regulator and a ball valve, so I have everything needed to make one of the testers that sell for around 200 bucks from matco and snap on.

So I put everything together, air chuck, regulator, ball valve, gauge, and hose going to cooling system and it works great. So now I have the standard stant hand pump and also the one that uses shop air, and that one didn't cost me but a few bucks in parts.







Thought this might be of some interest to others. I wouldn't have made this unless I had the gauge and hose end from the junk stant tester just laying around. But you could easily make one of these and use the gauge and hose end from your stant tester and just switch back and forth if needed. The air one will be nice for bigger cooling systems so you don't have to pump away for a couple minutes. So if you ever find an old tester for cheap you can just steal the parts to make one of these.

 

[George7941]

I never bothered buying a pressure tester. I pressure test by using regulated air pressure (15psi) thru the overflow hose to check for leaks. If I have to check the cap I pressurise thru a heater hose.

 

[Chris142]

I use one that uses shop air daily. Ain't no fun trying to pump up a Caterpillar diesel with the hand pump one.

 

[scott37300]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
I use one that uses shop air daily. Ain't no fun trying to pump up a Caterpillar diesel with the hand pump one.


I mainly just threw this together because I had the parts laying around but now that I have it I can see grabbing it before the stant hand pump. And if I ever do need to do a big system it will be really nice!

 

[George7941]

I don't see why the cap has to be wedged open even when the overflow tank is not pressurised. 15 psi air will go past the cap the same way coolant from the reservoir goes back in when the rad develops a vacuum, thru the one-way valve in the cap.

 

[scott37300]

I was doing some searching and came across a kit stant sells to update older testers for modern cars. It comes with the hose and end that goes on the radiator and also a gauge for under 30 bucks. All you need is one of these kits and a regulator and you have a dedicated pressure tester for around 30-35 bucks. No messing around with wedges or vent lines, just hook up like an actual tester. The stant part number is 12704 and amazon and many other places sell them.