leak down tester recommendation ?

which leak down tester would you all recommend? i'm not looking for the spendy snap-on or mac tools variety, but i'd like something decently accurate. thanks.

is it for one time use or for the long haul?

I have a harbor freight one that actually works just as well as my snap-on one BUT the snap-on one is easier to use in a hurry.

well, i don't see myself using one more than ten times in my life. how was the harbor freight one not as easy to use relative to the snap-on unit?

it is just a little less refined some of the fittings get stuck a little once in a while nothing you couldn't live with. The snap-on one is like a fine tuned machined piece so it works like butter every time but then again I use it probably once a month so its nice to have it work so well.

would the "stickiness" of the hf unit's fittings be something that could potentially strip the threads in an aluminum head?

pepe le pew said:

would the "stickiness" of the hf unit's fittings be something that could potentially strip the threads in an aluminum head?

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I'd be inclined to think so - aluminum is funny that way.

However, see if you can't find a "thread chaser" and clean them up, and you'll probably be okeh. And, you should still be ahead vice the cost of the Snap-On or MAC. A "thread chaser" looks like a die, but it doesn't really have a "cutting edge" anywhere - it's just a hardened thread piece that "reforms" existing threads vice cutting new threads. Therefore, it works quite well on existing threads.

Thread chasers are sorted by size and pitch - I think our plugs are M14-1.5 (can anyone confirm?) It's a fairly standard size, tho. More convenient - but more difficult to use - would be a "thread file", or a file that has a 60* angle on the working side. It will clean up any 60-degree V-profile thread (UNC, UNF, UNS, ISO, NPT, ...) but you have to make sure you've got it in the groove properly and that you don't take too much material out of the grooves. If you're not sure of yourself (sharpening an ax or a lawnmower blade is good practise in handling a file with some precision,) then get the chaser - you thread it on and off like an oversized hex nut.

N.B. - For a cheap set of thread chasers, you can use SAE8 nuts (SAE/"inch" threads) or ISO 12.9 nuts (ISO/"metric" threads.) For internal threads, use the same strength of screws, but use a narrow grinding wheel to cut two or three evenly-spaced grooves along the length of the thread (to catch chips and crud.) Cheap and quick - and don't last as long as purpose-built pieces - but it will let you finish a job when you need to.

5-90! haven't talked to you in a long time. thanks for the info.

i'm thinking i should just man up and buy something of quality rather than risk screwing around with stripped threads and all. it's for my wj, which is consuming a little bit of earl.

pepe le pew said:

would the "stickiness" of the hf unit's fittings be something that could potentially strip the threads in an aluminum head?

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no it isnt the threaded parts that stick i was talking the air fitting and bleed off fitting

gerr, thanks for the clarification. the spark plugs on the wj are deep under the individual coil-on-plugs. is the rubber hose on either the snap-on or harbor freight unit more flexible than the other such that it would be difficult to thread properly into the spark plug hole?

Gerr said:

it is just a little less refined some of the fittings get stuck a little once in a while nothing you couldn't live with. The snap-on one is like a fine tuned machined piece so it works like butter every time but then again I use it probably once a month so its nice to have it work so well.

Click to expand...

I've got the snap-on one and never used it. Got it with a mess of special tools for doing Honda's when a local got out of working on Honda's and went into the IT field. I should check my jeep sometime.

pepe le pew said:

gerr, thanks for the clarification. the spark plugs on the wj are deep under the individual coil-on-plugs. is the rubber hose on either the snap-on or harbor freight unit more flexible than the other such that it would be difficult to thread properly into the spark plug hole?

Click to expand...

I don't think either would pose a problem, after you get use to it. the first couple times I tried to get the adapter started took me a few minutes, after learning the quirks it is routine now

This is what I use, and sell. Nothing fancy, but works good.
$110.00 shipped.

PM me if interested.



http://www.moroso.com/catalog/categorydisplay.asp?catcode=27031