Best location for vacuum leak test

[turbobooster]

I'm in the process of hunting down vacuum leaks my ttype might have I made my own smoke vacuum leak tester but I have questions where is the best place to start pumping the smoke through? If I do it through the throttle body do I need to keep the throttle blade WOT? Or just leave it closed as it sits?

 

[Paul Lohr]

Congratulations on the smoke tester. It is a useful diagnostic tool. I built one too. I think I need a resistor before the glow plug - I melted the solder out of the can. Limiting the on time to a minute with a few minutes of cool down time in between sessions might do the trick. Careful with that.

Any place where vacuum is drawn is good. This would be on the engine side of the throttle plate. Keep the throttle plate closed. It takes a few minutes for the smoke to build up in the intake system. After the intake system is full of smoke, the smoke will roll out of the air filter.

Paul Lohr

 

[Bescurred]

Question, would one of those Halloween fog machines do the same as this?

 

[turbobooster]

Question, would one of those Halloween fog machines do the same as this?

I would say yes I remember reading about others making their own out of those ..... I have a question guys so I did another vacuum leak test and I found smoke coming out from under my egr where the diaphragm is at should any s one be coming out of there. ? Is that an indication of a bad egr vacuum leak? And another place I noticed was my wastegate right where the rod goes into the diaphragm does that mean a bad wastegate? Need help and advice here need to know if I need to replace of if its normal thanx

 

[earlbrown]

If smoke is blowing anywhere out of the wastegate it's bad. It should be a sealed up bulb.

 

[turbobooster]

If smoke is blowing anywhere out of the wastegate it's bad. It should be a sealed up bulb.

Thanks for the response I will replace that with another one I have laying around then , now do u know if the same applies to the egr valve ? That no smoke should be blowing out and be sealed up 100%?

 

[turbodave231]

I have another useful idea for you to use with your "smokin" efforts. . You will find that many items and connections leak. But some will only leak under higher pressures. Low pressure smoke won't find those leaks.

I made a tool that attaches to the inlet of the turbo and pressurizes the entire inlet tract. I removed the rocker shafts on both heads which makes sure the intake valves are all closed. I used a pressure regulator and gage to control the pressure. I was amazed at how many things leaked!!!! I ended up zip tying most hose connections to keep them from leaking. The EGR valve was one of the biggest leaks. I wasn't using EGR so I eliminated the valve and the problem.

 

[turbo nasty]

I have another useful idea for you to use with your "smokin" efforts. . You will find that many items and connections leak. But some will only leak under higher pressures. Low pressure smoke won't find those leaks.

I made a tool that attaches to the inlet of the turbo and pressurizes the entire inlet tract. I removed the rocker shafts on both heads which makes sure the intake valves are all closed. I used a pressure regulator and gage to control the pressure. I was amazed at how many things leaked!!!! I ended up zip tying most hose connections to keep them from leaking. The EGR valve was one of the biggest leaks. I wasn't using EGR so I eliminated the valve and the problem.

This is hands down the best way IMO. I discovered a TON of leaks with this methods and soapy water.

 

[turbodave231]

It ends up being a very simple tool. It is a "puck" threaded for a pipe thread. It can me made from aluminum or plastic fairly cheap.

You clamp it in place with a 3" coupler hose on the turbo, and slowly pressurize the inlet tract. You can watch your boost gauge as you adjust the regulator and raise the pressure. You can also do the same thing at the TB......your choice. I like testing at the turbo because it covers more potential leak points.

I ran my testing at 30 psi to be sure I caught all the problems. Think about it........if you are leaking under pressure, you are working the turbo much harder than necessary to generate the effective boost levels. Working the turbo harder equals more heat

Trust me, you will find things leaking you never expected!!!

 

[GNRick]

I bought my smoke machine off craigs list from a shop closing up. If you don't make your own, you might want to check CL. Just google smoke vacuum detector and you will get ideas on how to make one. Lowes sells a blue toilet bowl plunger that you can use to attach to the turbo in addition to the rest of the parts you will need.

 

[Quik Six]

I use a leak tester that I got from Mark Huffman.

I pull the MAF pipe and use an adapter/hose combo that connects to the inlet side of the turbo. Hook up an air compressor and start out with low pressure and listen for leaks. Fix leaks as I find them and keep adding pressure until I reach your max boost pressure. I usually go about 5#'s over that point to test the hose connections. It sucks to blow off the up pipe and blow a chunk out of your hood insulator.

You can probably make one of these with a plastic pipe cap and a compressor connector for less than $10.

 

[DentMan]

I have another useful idea for you to use with your "smokin" efforts. . You will find that many items and connections leak. But some will only leak under higher pressures. Low pressure smoke won't find those leaks.

I made a tool that attaches to the inlet of the turbo and pressurizes the entire inlet tract. I removed the rocker shafts on both heads which makes sure the intake valves are all closed. I used a pressure regulator and gage to control the pressure. I was amazed at how many things leaked!!!! I ended up zip tying most hose connections to keep them from leaking. The EGR valve was one of the biggest leaks. I wasn't using EGR so I eliminated the valve and the problem.

David - do you have a pic or 2 describing how you made the pressure tool? thank you