How do I make / buy / use / troubleshoot a boost leak tester? [merged]

[Turbo Monk3y]

All boost leak tester threads are combined here.

i read somewhere maybe the Vfaq about making or buying a boost leak tester of some sort but never found it.... the reason being my acceleration seems slower than normal and all ive done to my stock car so far is take out the air box put on a K&N filter and cut the dump tube i have my boost guage sitting in a box not hooked up yet. and since those 2 mods it when i go wot on the car i can hear the turbo spool up and it sounds nice but i can also hear a sound as my rpm increases the SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH sound does too. the sound comes from the same area as the BOV i think maybe i got a #@%#@%#@%#@% stock bov and it cant handle over 11-13 psi??? Then i shift and it makes the nice BOV sound WHOOOOSHHHH... but my car seems to be a little slower.. any ideas before i go check every tube clamp and tube????

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

Please do not bump your own thread. Your oil cap leak could be one of two things. Most likely you just need a new gasket for it. The other being your PCV valve could be shot and not allow pressure out and so it has to find another way out. I would recommend getting a new oil cap gasket and PCV valve. Only like $2.00 at any parts store. Cheap fix. As far as the turbo I have heard of the splitting in the middle but not on a stock turbo. You may need to check your compressor and exhaust housing for leaks and such. More than likely since I just noticed you have a 1g is your exhaust manifold it cracked underneath. Happens to almost everyone. You can either reweld it or get a 2g manifold which is way less likely to crack. I suggest going to get a new PCV valve and oil cap or gasket. Then taking off your exhaust manifold and checking it for leaks.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

I've got the exact same problems and I've come to the same conclusions as 95blackgsturbo (too lazy to make it all wonky...). I'm pretty sure my exhaust manifold is cracked, because starting the car after the wet test yielded smoke from the manifold, not the tail pipe. The pcv issue seems to be very common as well. Is your dipstick popping up under heavy boost? It's also just started happening to me and I believe is a sypton of a bad pcv.

 

[Ski Bum]

I replaced the PCV before performing the test as it is a cheap and easy part to replace that can cause all sorts of issues. I will replace the oil cap and try the pressure test again. In regards to my exhaust manifold, it is in fact in need of replacing. There is a hairline crack on top between the two middle runners and the seal on the two left runners against the block is very good. Thanks for the help.

 

[Ski Bum]

I performed the boost leak test again today and took some pictures of the results to better diagnose the issue. The main leak (my BISS leaked but I have a new o ring for that) was I think where the compressor side of the turbo mates up to the exhaust side. The leak came from right at the seal. The banjo bolts were air tight as well as the exhaust manifold. So what I'm wondering if there is a fix to this leak other than replacing the turbo? I have an extra stock 14b in another GSX that when the same test is performed on doesnt leak like this one.

What do you guys think?

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[Millerman340]

So, if you pressurise at a constant regulated flow (15-20 lbs)then just start searching for escaping air every where on the intake side including injector o rings. right? Dave.

 

[95EclipseGST]

Okay i know using a tire pump would be useless, but what about one of those plug into your car lighter 12v little compressors. would that work? I cant get to a compressor on this island and dont want to pay to have one shipped just for this. Thanks for your help.

 

[TJGoSurf]

That would work, but those little compressors are noisy, with no storage for compressed air, so you would not hear the leaks.

Since getting a compressor to you isnt an option, have you thought about using your tiny compressor and coating your pipes with water? I would do one pipe at a time and look for bubbles. Or you could have a 20 gallon air tank sent over. They are only around $20 american. You could use your tiny compressor to fill it up, and then listen for boost leaks.

 

[ChvyKc]

Okay i know using a tire pump would be useless, but what about one of those plug into your car lighter 12v little compressors. would that work? I cant get to a compressor on this island and dont want to pay to have one shipped just for this. Thanks for your help.

Tried it, it doesn't work. It would only build 3 pounds and it took forever to do that. With only three pounds in the intercooler system, it is almost impossible to tell where the leak is coming from. Just go to Wal-mart and pick up a tank for 20 bucks like said above. I am picking one up tomorrow because I got a huge boost leak somewhere.

 

[ChvyKc]

They have Walmarts in Itaily?

Sorry, didn't see where he was from. The Walton's are rich enough to put them over there. Hey, they got McDonald's don't they? All they need now is a Wal-mart to complete the American experience.

They do apparently have them in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. Check it out (sorry, I was really bored at work):

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=163543&path=0%3A163543

 

[Acinonyx]

Again I'm at an impass with dsm projects,
I bought one of those boost pro.net testers which has a 3" diameter,
Most of the cars I work with/on have 2" turbo inlets, being that they are 16g's or super16g's So I need a relatively forgiving reducer/coupling that goes from 3 to 2 inches. I've tried pepboys home depot and a few other places, but none seemed to have what I need. And I don't really feel like paying 20 bucks for one online.

On a tangent, I'm not terribly familiar with mounting points for the dsm boost controllers, on my last project I moved the stock b/c and put the aftermarket (greddy) unit in it's place, so the hose to the actuator is slightly kinked, could this affect it's performance?

Thanks in advance for your expertise/advice.

 

[91gsxboosted]

I found decent 3in to 2in couplers at menards. They were a lot thicker than the ones at home depot.

 

[Acinonyx]

I live in the southern california area, Unfortunately Menards seem to be located in the midwest/northeast exclusively, thanks though

 

[oldman]

Why not just make yourself another one for $5?

A kinked line to the wastegate will mostly make you boost higher than the setting if not out of control boost depending on how bad the kink is.

 

[Acinonyx]

Already spent the cash on the boostpro tester, I figure I may as well get some use out of it, other than a paperweight that is.

 

[johnwohl]

I just went through the process of finding couplers for the boostpro leak tester as well. I went to Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards and got various sizes of couplers.

See the problem is that the o/d of the 14b is like 2 in and the od of the tester is like 3 inches so I figured I could just pick up a 3 inch to 2 inch coupler and 'bob's your uncle' right? Wrong.

The i/d of the 3 inch to 2 inch coupler was more like 3 1/2 and 2 1/4 a little less maybe. So the '2 inch' side was way too large for the turbo inlet and the 3 inch was large for the tester but at least I could crank it down to get a good seal, but the turbo side was just too big to do any good.

I went back and got a 2 inch to 1 1/2 inch, and a 3 inch to 1 1/2 inch coupler. The 2 inch side of the first one was way too small for the tester. The 3 inch still was a little bit on the big side for the tester but with some persuasion it fit the turbo inlet very snugly.

What I ended up doing with the tester was tightly wrapping duct tape around the outside until it fit in the 3 inch coupler end very snugly and it seemed to work pretty well. The other option seemed to be cutting the tester down to fit the 2 inch to 1 1/2 inch coupler.

Your mileage may vary but thats what I did. Hope it helps!

 

[93jdmlaser]

Test to the psi that you are goin to run dont worry about any higher if you wont see that level of boost.

 

[89_laser_32]

Ok so i'm pretty sure I have boost leaks and am building my boost leak tester today. I used this link "http://www.vfaq.com/mods/ICtester.html" on how to build it but don't know how to do perform the test. The intructions just say "pressurize your system" and he says he uses a 7 gallon air tank from walmart. When I went to get that 7 gallon tank it said it was like 121 psi and i'm scared if I hook that thing up that will push WAY more air than the 20 that is safe to push through the turbo. Also do you have to have it pumping through there the whole time your listening and looking for leaks? I don't know what to do somebody please tell me.

 

[travislaw]

Ok so i'm pretty sure I have boost leaks and am building my boost leak tester today. I used this link "http://www.vfaq.com/mods/ICtester.html" on how to build it but don't know how to do perform the test. The intructions just say "pressurize your system" and he says he uses a 7 gallon air tank from walmart. When I went to get that 7 gallon tank it said it was like 121 psi and i'm scared if I hook that thing up that will push WAY more air than the 20 that is safe to push through the turbo. Also do you have to have it pumping through there the whole time your listening and looking for leaks? I don't know what to do somebody please tell me.

Okay first off, you will not be pushing a tone of air into the system. You are basically filling up the system with air. So if you are concerned, you have to have someone in the car looking at an aftermarket boost gauge to tell you when you have gotten to 20 psi. Yes you keep the air going in while you are looking for the leaks. If there are none, your system should hold 20 psi and then drop to 0 in about 30 seconds. If you have leaks you are never going to reach 20 psi until they are gone. Make sure you have a bottle of soapy water too. To add to that, you don't need to open up the bottle all the way with air coming through, just have the air coming in enough that you can find the leaks, otherwise you will be filling up the tank a lot.

 

[gurmanator]

the blue air tank?it has adjustable air flow.follow what was said above.

 

[daveyfx]

Hi all,

I threw together a little boost leak tester today and tried to pressurize the intake system with some cheap-o little hand pump. Unfortunately this did not work out so well and I was wondering what you all are using for this step.

I'm not looking to spend big bucks on a compressor or skimp with a crappy hand pump again. I was thinking that perhaps an air pump from Wally World would suffice or a decent pump that plugs into the cig. lighter.

Anyone have any first-hand recommendations here?

Thanks

 

[Staytuned]

Use an air pig. Fill it up at the gas station.

 

[travislaw]

Hi all,

I threw together a little boost leak tester today and tried to pressurize the intake system with some cheap-o little hand pump. Unfortunately this did not work out so well and I was wondering what you all are using for this step.

I'm not looking to spend big bucks on a compressor or skimp with a crappy hand pump again. I was thinking that perhaps an air pump from Wally World would suffice or a decent pump that plugs into the cig. lighter.

Anyone have any first-hand recommendations here?

Thanks

Go to Wal-Mart and in the tools/auto section there will be Air compressor tools and tanks as well as an Air Tank. The air tank is something like $19 and holds 7 gallons. You fill it up at the gas station or with a friend air compressor and go at it.

 

[xcelr8n]

I'm a cheap ass so what I usually do is just drive down to the local car wash (many air pumps) pop off my intake pipe, slap on the tester and use the free air hoses there. Bring some soapy water along with you, you'd be surprised at how hard some boost leaks are too properly identify. The soapy water does an excellent job exposing those nasty lil buggers though.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

Anything less than pre-compressed air will leak out before it registers much unless you have a leakless system. It might be worth looking for a compressor. As long as you have to spend money on a tank you might as well go for a compressor. I found a great one at a pawn shop for $60.

 

[napkinthief]

Do you have a mbc that may be leaking the air faster than you pump it in. If you have a big leak, you will never build pressure with a small bike pump.