Coolant Pressure Tester

From VanagonWiki

I made my own coolant pressure tester that was cheap to make and works very well to detect coolant leaks that I never knew I had.

Here is the parts list I used:

1- 1/8" npt tank valve (could use a valve stem from a car or bike and rig it up somehow with clamps and hose with a barbed hose connector but what I did was easier) (found at Prices Auto in Canada)

1- 1/8" npt threaded filter gauge (that is the pressure gauge. Mine is 30 psi and the threads are on the back. Don't know what filter gauge means, but I found it in the compressor section of an autoparts store (Prices Auto in Canada)

1- 1/8" npt brass barbed hose connector (found at a hydraulics hose store, but common at other stores)

1- 1/8" npt brass "T" fitting to attach everything together (found at a hydraulics hose store, but common at other stores)

1- old coolant pressure cap with guts removed or broken off so that it allows a free flow of air in and out

1- Short piece of high pressure fuel line

2- Hose clamps

1- Bicycle pump to pressurize the system

- Thread sealant to make sure the threads are sealed

Basically everything ties into the brass "T" fitting. Easy to figure out once you have the parts. Then screw the old cap on the coolant pressure tank( some coolant will likely flow out of the pressure tank...it did on mine), hook the tester up to the cap with the short fuel hose, clamp it on and pump the system up to 15PSI with the bicycle pump.  Look for obvious leaks, or waita few hours to see if the gauge pressure dropped and then look around for leaks.