Leak down tester

[noob-e]

Hey guys - I have been having some trouble with a smoking tail-pipe and I am 90% sure it is antifreeze b/c it is white and smells like burnt sugar. It smokes the most when the car is idle (when I drive, the amount of smoke decreases). This tells me that as the engine gets hotter, I am burning more anti-freeze, due to the increased pressure, which is probably pushing coolant through a crack in my head gasket. I did a compression test and I got about 150ish across the board. Someone suggested a leak-down test, but I had no idea where to get the equipment for the test. It's easy to find a compression gauge, but not a leak-gauge. Well, I found one at a great price at Harbor Freight Tools. This place is a playground for tool-loving-folk. Here are some pics and the link to the site if you want to check it out. I got it on sale for about $20! I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I will post the results and how well it works for me.


p.s. for some reason the link isn't working, but you can find it with this - ITEM 94190-3VGA

-Adam

 

[snowborder714]

I have the same leak down tester (as well as HF's compression tester) and they both seem to work pretty well.

 

[noob-e]

Yeah, I got my compression tester there too. It's a great little hardware/tool store. Luckily, I have an actual store about 10 minutes from my house - I get lost in there. So many tools....so little time

 

[1_2befast]

I wanted to get the compression tester from Sears, but it is more like $50.