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Leak Down Tester and Inspection Light Recommendations?

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    Leak Down Tester and Inspection Light Recommendations?

    The wagon sold yesterday, so it is time to work on my daughter's Element to address oil consumption. I want to get a better idea of what's going on with it before tearing it apart. Anyone have recommendations for a leak down tester and inspection light (bore scope)? I know Harbor Freight has both, but the reviews I've read are terrible.
    90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
    08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

    #2
    What exactly are you trying to diagnose Paul? For exterior leaks we were once told to use baby powder sprinkled around the block and trace the leak back to the source, i hope you are having an amazing day as well.
    [url=https://flic.kr/p/2hFNC7Z]

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      #3
      High oil consumption, not external leaks. Runs fine, no smoke that I noticed. She's been told she needs a new engine, but with no specifics. I want to do some more detailed diagnosis to try to determine if the rings are bad or just valve seals before I start tearing it apart. I have the original engine (which knocked at idle) that I had meant to rebuild, but hadn't gotten to yet. If it is only valve seals, I'd prefer to redo the head from the old engine, then swap heads, instead of having to rebuild an entire engine and swap that.
      Last edited by Fleetw00d; 05-17-2019, 08:38 PM.
      90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
      08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

      Comment


        #4
        agreed, the Leakdown Tester from HFT is garbage. Similar (identical-looking) chinese models on amazon also get horrible reviews.

        there are some versions on Amazon that have excellent reviews - I would take a look through there. Although I've never used this particular one, here's a version that I would consider buying: https://www.amazon.com/OTC-5609-Cyli.../dp/B0030EVL60

        Don't forget the typical tricks for diagnosing valve stem seals (looking for smoke under certain conditions...) and the Compression Tester usage for diagnosing piston rings (with and without oil...). Running the car with a piece of white paper behind the tail pipe (unburnt oil and carbon), as well as holding paper over the open oil cap while running (to see blowby or PCV issues), are both very telling.

        Personally I have found that a full suite of tricks and careful poking around has been sufficient for me, and I haven't needed to replace my broken HFT leakdown tester yet. The couple times that it DID work, didn't seem incredibly helpful to me


        Regarding the borescope, I actually very much like my HFT one. If you want to go with something cheaper, there are USB versions that can plug into your cellphone, sort of a miniature web cam, you can get them online. I have found great use with my HFT one though, and it works fine. Mostly for house stuff though, for cars, pretty much it's only good for getting a visual on the piston faces and cylinder walls. A visual doesn't always help finding problems while running, though.
        Last edited by cp[mike]; 04-28-2019, 01:16 PM.


        - 1993 Accord LX - White sedan (sold)
        - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (wrecked)
        - 1991 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
        - 1990 Accord EX - Grey sedan (sold)
        - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
        - 1992 Accord EX - White coupe (sold)
        - 1993 Accord EX - Grey coupe (stolen)
        - 1993 Accord SE - Gold coupe (sold)
        Current cars:
        - 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon - Daily driver
        - 2004 Chevrolet Express AWD - Camper conversion

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          #5
          I had or might still have a leakdown tester from HF that I bought 5 or 6 years ago. It wasn't any good. Honestly I didn't make an educated purchase when I bought it. Afterwards I looked for the best affordable leakdown tester and after a long time of looking that OTC 5609 is what I came up with.




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            #6
            Bought the OTC 5609 tester. Unfortunately, cylinder #2 in my daughter's Element leaks at 14% past the rings (can hear it at the oil filler), the others at less than 5%.

            Bought the Depstech 5 meter endoscope that wirelessly connects to my phone. Intake and pistons in her Element don't look so good. The 45 degree angled mirror to look sideways doesn't work so well to try to get a better view of the cylinder walls.

            20190516182448 by Paul Kemme, on Flickr

            20190517182325 by Paul Kemme, on Flickr

            All the black in the intake (similar at all four cylinders) is well upstream of where oil from the valve seals would be. I suspect it is from blowby dumping a lot of oil laden air into the intake.
            Last edited by Fleetw00d; 05-17-2019, 08:40 PM.
            90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
            08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

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