Today I rented a cooling system test kit from my local O'Reilly's Auto Parts and tested my Scorpion's cooling system. I've been smelling coolant on occasion with the top open and worried I had a head gasket leak, thinking it was coming from the exhaust.
Hooked up the tester to the expansion tank and pumped up to 13psi. I also removed the plugs and listened for leaks using my stethoscope.
After about an hour the pressure had dropped to 11psi. Not a huge leak but something was leaking. I did this 2 more times. Then I found a leak as evidenced by this small puddle:
Crawled under the right rear corner and saw this:
So I had to remove the exhaust heat shield to tighten the clamp, and the leak stopped. Further testing saw a much reduced, but not completely solved drop in pressure. I inspected the engine hoses, radiator, hoses, fan switch and bleeder. I inspected the heater core and hose connections. I inspected the under-car pipes and drain bolts. No other leaks evident.
So, I'm chalking the slight remaining leak to the tester setup. While I had the tester I also tested the 13psi and 10psi caps I have, both test good. Hopefully this solves the mystery coolant smell and occasional air in the system I've experienced.
Anyway I wanted to share how easy the tester is to use and that it can show even slight leaks, a good investment of time. The rental is "free" in that you pay a deposit and get it back if you return the tool in 2 days.
Hooked up the tester to the expansion tank and pumped up to 13psi. I also removed the plugs and listened for leaks using my stethoscope.
After about an hour the pressure had dropped to 11psi. Not a huge leak but something was leaking. I did this 2 more times. Then I found a leak as evidenced by this small puddle:
Crawled under the right rear corner and saw this:
So I had to remove the exhaust heat shield to tighten the clamp, and the leak stopped. Further testing saw a much reduced, but not completely solved drop in pressure. I inspected the engine hoses, radiator, hoses, fan switch and bleeder. I inspected the heater core and hose connections. I inspected the under-car pipes and drain bolts. No other leaks evident.
So, I'm chalking the slight remaining leak to the tester setup. While I had the tester I also tested the 13psi and 10psi caps I have, both test good. Hopefully this solves the mystery coolant smell and occasional air in the system I've experienced.
Anyway I wanted to share how easy the tester is to use and that it can show even slight leaks, a good investment of time. The rental is "free" in that you pay a deposit and get it back if you return the tool in 2 days.
