/ News & Press / Video / Pressure Testing Cooling Systems -EricTheCarGuy
Pressure Testing Cooling Systems -EricTheCarGuy
WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en
00:00:01.580 greetings viewers eric the car guy here 00:00:03.97900:00:03.989 back again with another well I can't 00:00:05.66000:00:05.670 necessarily call it a repair video let's 00:00:07.82000:00:07.830 call this one another one in the basics 00:00:11.02900:00:11.039 series I've been trying to develop a 00:00:13.43000:00:13.440 series of videos that cover the basics 00:00:15.28900:00:15.299 of diagnosis and repair and this would 00:00:18.38000:00:18.390 be one of them 00:00:19.16000:00:19.170 behind me a 1999 Honda Civic it came in 00:00:23.69000:00:23.700 with coolant everywhere underneath the 00:00:26.54000:00:26.550 hood apparently it was bubbling over 00:00:29.00000:00:29.010 overheating stuff a spring everywhere it 00:00:31.31000:00:31.320 was kind of dramatic probably a bunch of 00:00:33.73900:00:33.749 steam it got pretty hot not a happy 00:00:36.13900:00:36.149 vehicle so what's the first thing that 00:00:37.91000:00:37.920 we do whenever we encounter an overheat 00:00:40.48900:00:40.499 problem like that that's right check for 00:00:43.70000:00:43.710 air in the cooling system 00:00:45.29000:00:45.300 yeah and I've written about this in the 00:00:46.72900:00:46.739 articles on my website step one normally 00:00:49.39900:00:49.409 is to check for air in the cooling 00:00:51.50000:00:51.510 system many many many many many many 00:00:54.20000:00:54.210 many overheat problems are caused by air 00:00:56.38900:00:56.399 that gets into the cooling system now 00:00:57.81900:00:57.829 once you have determined it there's no 00:00:59.95900:00:59.969 more air in the cooling system the next 00:01:02.14900:01:02.159 step is to find out how that air got 00:01:04.00900:01:04.019 there and that is the subject of today's 00:01:06.17000:01:06.180 video and we are going to go through 00:01:08.00000:01:08.010 pressure testing a cooling system 00:01:09.74000:01:09.750 pressure testing is something that is 00:01:11.99000:01:12.000 done in order to test the integrity of 00:01:15.50000:01:15.510 the cooling system it's a sealed system 00:01:17.15000:01:17.160 it needs to be able to hold pressure so 00:01:19.49000:01:19.500 if you have a cooling system that is 00:01:21.59000:01:21.600 unable to hold pressure it is unable to 00:01:24.23000:01:24.240 cool efficiently and it's mixture will 00:01:26.96000:01:26.970 boil at a much lower temperature also 00:01:29.71000:01:29.720 stuffs going to leak out and if stuff 00:01:32.42000:01:32.430 leaks out well that's when the air gets 00:01:34.52000:01:34.530 introduced into the cooling system so 00:01:36.14000:01:36.150 today we are going over the process of 00:01:38.54000:01:38.550 checking up pressure testing the cooling 00:01:41.30000:01:41.310 system and looking for those leaks to 00:01:43.19000:01:43.200 try and determine where they're coming 00:01:45.11000:01:45.120 from so we can complete our repairs 00:01:47.21000:01:47.220 so why don't we get started on this 00:01:48.47000:01:48.480 Civic and try to figure out why it was 00:01:50.63000:01:50.640 spraying cooling everywhere okay let's 00:01:52.73000:01:52.740 start with the tools this is a pressure 00:01:55.49000:01:55.500 tester they come in different 00:01:57.20000:01:57.210 configurations mine was made by Mac I'll 00:01:59.63000:01:59.640 post a link in the description for one 00:02:01.58000:02:01.590 for your very own self they're not that 00:02:03.17000:02:03.180 expensive but you may be able to rent or 00:02:07.88000:02:07.890 borrow one from your local auto parts 00:02:09.29000:02:09.300 store you'll have to check with them 00:02:10.58000:02:10.590 find out if that's the case these are 00:02:12.71000:02:12.720 special adapters 00:02:14.39000:02:14.400 this comes standard with just a regular 00:02:17.59000:02:17.600 full-size radiator cap attachment 00:02:20.48000:02:20.490 however many cooling systems no longer 00:02:23.06000:02:23.070 use that type of setup so they have 00:02:26.30000:02:26.310 different adapters that you can use to 00:02:29.48000:02:29.490 deal with those different types of 00:02:31.31000:02:31.320 systems 00:02:31.88000:02:31.890 now some systems don't have a radiator 00:02:34.94000:02:34.950 cap some systems have a separate tank 00:02:38.15000:02:38.160 which is called an expansion tank that's 00:02:40.40000:02:40.410 off to the side so it's a plastic tank 00:02:42.44000:02:42.450 that's located somewhere else in the 00:02:44.84000:02:44.850 engine compartment if you've got a 00:02:46.76000:02:46.770 system that has a has one of those 00:02:49.55000:02:49.560 plastic containers that says something 00:02:51.50000:02:51.510 like contents under pressure or it has 00:02:53.90000:02:53.910 an actual radiator cap on it you most 00:02:56.66000:02:56.670 likely have one of those expansion tank 00:02:59.06000:02:59.070 type systems and they do have different 00:03:00.92000:03:00.930 adapters for those as well so instead of 00:03:03.62000:03:03.630 doing your pressure testing at the 00:03:05.03000:03:05.040 radiator you would be doing your 00:03:06.50000:03:06.510 pressure testing at that expansion tank 00:03:08.48000:03:08.490 most likely but in this case we just 00:03:10.55000:03:10.560 have a regular old radiator I believe 00:03:13.67000:03:13.680 I'll have to look I believe this is the 00:03:15.65000:03:15.660 attachment that we're going to need 00:03:16.88000:03:16.890 there's a deep one like this this one's 00:03:20.57000:03:20.580 more shallow and it sort of goes along 00:03:22.25000:03:22.260 with the radiator cap as you can see the 00:03:24.11000:03:24.120 one on this Civic is rather shallow so 00:03:27.11000:03:27.120 that's what we're going to use we're 00:03:28.70000:03:28.710 going to use this to try to add pressure 00:03:30.20000:03:30.210 to the system so let's go over to the 00:03:32.03000:03:32.040 vehicle and get some pressure on it and 00:03:34.25000:03:34.260 see if we can find the source of a leak 00:03:35.51000:03:35.520 okay here we are at the vehicle I'm 00:03:37.88000:03:37.890 going to remove the radiator cap sort of 00:03:40.88000:03:40.890 set that aside someplace I'm going to 00:03:42.89000:03:42.900 start by topping off the radiator if I 00:03:46.04000:03:46.050 don't top off the radiator and I try to 00:03:47.72000:03:47.730 compress the air inside the cooling 00:03:49.10000:03:49.110 system it's going to take forever and 00:03:50.45000:03:50.460 it's not going to be as accurate so I 00:03:52.67000:03:52.680 know I said the first thing to do is 00:03:54.41000:03:54.420 check for air in the cooling system but 00:03:55.97000:03:55.980 I know this vehicle I've worked on it in 00:03:58.37000:03:58.380 the past and as far as air being in the 00:04:01.07000:04:01.080 cooling system yes that's possible but 00:04:02.93000:04:02.940 I'm really suspecting a leak someplace 00:04:05.63000:04:05.640 so I just want to check for that leak so 00:04:07.76000:04:07.770 in order to do that I have a completely 00:04:09.20000:04:09.210 cold engine here and instead of topping 00:04:11.39000:04:11.400 it off with coolant I'm just going to 00:04:13.01000:04:13.020 use water I know that I'm going to be 00:04:14.60000:04:14.610 servicing the cooling system anyway and 00:04:16.76000:04:16.770 I know 00:04:17.08000:04:17.090 really want to waste cooling so I'll 00:04:18.46000:04:18.470 just fill it up with water that way I'm 00:04:20.25900:04:20.269 not out any antifreeze looks like it's 00:04:25.15000:04:25.160 already leaking out so it should be an 00:04:26.65000:04:26.660 easy lead to find also with this test if 00:04:29.20000:04:29.210 you do this test and it's able to hold 00:04:30.96900:04:30.979 pressure you know you don't have any 00:04:32.56000:04:32.570 leaks in the system and you need to look 00:04:34.24000:04:34.250 elsewhere for the cause of your cooling 00:04:35.83000:04:35.840 system problem perhaps you've got a 00:04:38.98000:04:38.990 sticking thermostat something of that 00:04:40.45000:04:40.460 nature cooling fans that don't work I've 00:04:43.36000:04:43.370 done an entire video on system overheats 00:04:46.27000:04:46.280 and you can check that out I'll put a 00:04:48.52000:04:48.530 link in the description for you and that 00:04:51.28000:04:51.290 covers a lot of the other possibilities 00:04:53.29000:04:53.300 but this this video specifically deals 00:04:55.65900:04:55.669 with pressure testing a cooling system 00:04:56.98000:04:56.990 as you can see I just attached the 00:04:58.69000:04:58.700 adapter then I attached the pressure 00:05:00.76000:05:00.770 tester to the adapter and now I'll just 00:05:04.42000:05:04.430 pump it up I just realized I forgot 00:05:06.25000:05:06.260 something vitally important here and 00:05:08.20000:05:08.210 that is to tell you how to determine how 00:05:11.05000:05:11.060 much pressure to add with the tester in 00:05:13.02900:05:13.039 order to test the system and quite 00:05:15.73000:05:15.740 simply just look at the radiator cap 00:05:17.62000:05:17.630 itself whatever the pressure rating is 00:05:19.39000:05:19.400 on the radiator cap in this case it was 00:05:21.79000:05:21.800 15 psi or 16 psi and that's that's the 00:05:26.52900:05:26.539 number that I used if you exceed that 00:05:28.71900:05:28.729 pressure you could cause damage to the 00:05:30.34000:05:30.350 system so the way you determine is just 00:05:33.10000:05:33.110 check the radiator cap and see what it's 00:05:34.60000:05:34.610 rated at and as you add pressure to the 00:05:36.82000:05:36.830 system try to match that pressure and if 00:05:38.83000:05:38.840 it can hold that pressure you're good if 00:05:40.87000:05:40.880 it can't hold that pressure well then 00:05:42.73000:05:42.740 you have to look for the problem and 00:05:45.33900:05:45.349 that's pressure which as you can see 00:05:48.04000:05:48.050 already where our leak is I'll give you 00:05:50.86000:05:50.870 a close-up of that it's pretty easy to 00:05:58.39000:05:58.400 see that my pressure is going right out 00:06:00.55000:06:00.560 that rather large crack in the top of 00:06:02.65000:06:02.660 this radio now I don't want to 00:06:04.81000:06:04.820 necessarily assume that that is the 00:06:07.45000:06:07.460 be-all end-all I mean actually pounder 00:06:09.70000:06:09.710 radiators and actually radiators of this 00:06:11.77000:06:11.780 type with the plastic tanks on top of an 00:06:14.11000:06:14.120 aluminum core are kind of prone to this 00:06:16.83900:06:16.849 type of failure or the seam that seals 00:06:20.29000:06:20.300 the plastic tank to the core often leaks 00:06:22.81000:06:22.820 so it's not uncommon to see this but 00:06:25.99000:06:26.000 since the top is plastic here if you 00:06:28.77900:06:28.789 have a severe overheat or so 00:06:30.51000:06:30.520 thing else that's causing an overheat it 00:06:32.70000:06:32.710 could cause damage to the radiant so 00:06:34.89000:06:34.900 I'll replace the radiator I'll recheck 00:06:36.68900:06:36.699 the system I'll recheck for the overheat 00:06:38.46000:06:38.470 and I'll repress or test the system to 00:06:40.68000:06:40.690 make sure that the system still has the 00:06:42.83900:06:42.849 integrity that it has and that the 00:06:45.05900:06:45.069 radiator was in fact the only fault with 00:06:47.58000:06:47.590 this system so you may not be out of the 00:06:49.61900:06:49.629 woods if you find something like this so 00:06:51.57000:06:51.580 you want to make sure that you verify 00:06:52.61900:06:52.629 your repair when you're done okay we're 00:06:54.65900:06:54.669 back we have replaced the faulty 00:06:57.27000:06:57.280 radiator and also filled the cooling 00:07:00.08900:07:00.099 system I haven't started it or anything 00:07:01.64900:07:01.659 yet I don't need to using these methods 00:07:06.80000:07:06.810 sometimes on aftermarket radiators 00:07:10.02000:07:10.030 though these sinks don't always fit so 00:07:12.87000:07:12.880 great so be aware of that try to work 00:07:15.36000:07:15.370 within that limitation process is 00:07:20.96900:07:20.979 exactly the same we're going to put 15 00:07:24.57000:07:24.580 psi on the system looks like that's up 00:07:27.18000:07:27.190 in this range right here there we go 00:07:34.62000:07:34.630 it went up really quickly which is nice 00:07:37.11000:07:37.120 it's also holding pressure which is also 00:07:39.71900:07:39.729 nice I think a good round number is if 00:07:42.14900:07:42.159 it's able to hold pressure for a good 5 00:07:44.07000:07:44.080 minutes then you likely don't have any 00:07:47.79000:07:47.800 any leaks in the system but looking at 00:07:49.62000:07:49.630 this and how steady this needle is and 00:07:51.45000:07:51.460 the fact that it's just staying there I 00:07:54.49900:07:54.509 would say that we fixed this car 00:08:04.48000:08:04.490 right well if you suspect you have a 00:08:08.09000:08:08.100 leak in your cooling system pressure 00:08:10.19000:08:10.200 testing is the way to go 00:08:11.54000:08:11.550 now as far as finding the leak it was 00:08:14.03000:08:14.040 fairly easy on this vehicle but on some 00:08:16.25000:08:16.260 vehicles that may not be so easy so some 00:08:18.14000:08:18.150 areas to check are obviously all the 00:08:19.76000:08:19.770 hoses heater hoses connections at the 00:08:21.92000:08:21.930 firewall also the heater core the way to 00:08:25.37000:08:25.380 check that it's kind of difficult 00:08:27.26000:08:27.270 usually when a heater core goes bad one 00:08:28.73000:08:28.740 of two things happens the when you turn 00:08:31.19000:08:31.200 on your defroster the inside of your 00:08:33.52900:08:33.539 windshield will get this icky film on it 00:08:35.63000:08:35.640 and you might smell maple syrup or 00:08:37.46000:08:37.470 coolant type smell also the the 00:08:39.95000:08:39.960 floorboards particularly on the 00:08:40.96900:08:40.979 passenger side might be a little bit wet 00:08:42.65000:08:42.660 and have sort of a greasy feel to it so 00:08:44.99000:08:45.000 it doesn't necessarily feel like water 00:08:46.54000:08:46.550 that one's kind of a tough one to check 00:08:48.92000:08:48.930 sometimes it'll you'll see it leak out 00:08:50.63000:08:50.640 the AC drain there's a tube that allows 00:08:54.32000:08:54.330 the condensation from the a air 00:08:56.39000:08:56.400 conditioning to drain out that you can 00:08:58.43000:08:58.440 sometimes see coolant coming out of 00:08:59.96000:08:59.970 those are a little tougher to find as 00:09:02.57000:09:02.580 far as head gaskets check that overheat 00:09:04.40000:09:04.410 video I go over the process of checking 00:09:06.74000:09:06.750 for a head gasket failure in that so in 00:09:09.89000:09:09.900 other words if here if you're looking 00:09:10.91000:09:10.920 around and you can't find any leaks 00:09:12.65000:09:12.660 heater core or anything on the engine 00:09:14.44000:09:14.450 gaskets are another good place look 00:09:16.43000:09:16.440 we're like the intake manifold meets 00:09:17.99000:09:18.000 there's usually coolant the passes of 00:09:20.06000:09:20.070 the intake manifold sometimes idle air 00:09:22.40000:09:22.410 control valves and the hoses that go to 00:09:24.32000:09:24.330 them sometimes throttle bodies they run 00:09:26.66000:09:26.670 coolant through throttle bodies there's 00:09:29.24000:09:29.250 lots of places that could leak there's a 00:09:30.92000:09:30.930 lot of different vehicles out there even 00:09:33.11000:09:33.120 if you have an inspection tank type 00:09:34.82000:09:34.830 system that I spoke about earlier the 00:09:37.07000:09:37.080 process is still the same you want to 00:09:38.57000:09:38.580 pressurize the system it's usually with 00:09:40.28000:09:40.290 a tool similar to what I had there if it 00:09:42.65000:09:42.660 holds pressure you're good if it doesn't 00:09:44.30000:09:44.310 hold pressure look for the drips it's 00:09:47.06000:09:47.070 it's that simple but you want to top the 00:09:49.34000:09:49.350 system off before you start the test if 00:09:51.14000:09:51.150 not it's going to take forever to build 00:09:52.55000:09:52.560 up pressure because the air inside the 00:09:54.44000:09:54.450 system will compress is the liquid will 00:09:56.57000:09:56.580 not cool it's really nice as far as 00:09:59.09000:09:59.100 finding leaks because many times when it 00:10:01.25000:10:01.260 leaks it leaves a nice stain so it lets 00:10:03.62000:10:03.630 you know where where it was going every 00:10:05.96000:10:05.970 once in a while you get some strange 00:10:07.10000:10:07.110 leaks like external head gasket leak 00:10:09.44000:10:09.450 stuff like that 00:10:11.06000:10:11.070 but this this will help you find it and 00:10:12.56000:10:12.570 determine if you have that problem but 00:10:15.11000:10:15.120 once again if you do find an overheat 00:10:17.99000:10:18.000 situation first thing to check for is 00:10:19.51900:10:19.529 air in the cooling system links in the 00:10:21.38000:10:21.390 description to videos about bleeding 00:10:23.36000:10:23.370 cooling systems out that kind of thing 00:10:24.74000:10:24.750 checking for overheats head gaskets all 00:10:26.42000:10:26.430 the other stuff that I spoke about 00:10:27.38000:10:27.390 including link to the tool or a similar 00:10:30.65000:10:30.660 tool to what I used in the video that 00:10:32.99000:10:33.000 could help you anyway I hope that 00:10:34.43000:10:34.440 information was useful and helpful to 00:10:36.65000:10:36.660 you i am eric the car guy you can always 00:10:39.23000:10:39.240 find me at eric the car guy comm where 00:10:41.44900:10:41.459 you can also find useful information on 00:10:43.28000:10:43.290 any of your other repair issues that you 00:10:45.94900:10:45.959 may have we have a welcome video there 00:10:47.81000:10:47.820 that tells you about all the wonderful 00:10:49.49000:10:49.500 features we have at eric de carga comm 00:10:51.41000:10:51.420 to help you solve those automotive 00:10:53.32900:10:53.339 issues that you have we're here to serve 00:10:55.34000:10:55.350 if you wish to connect with me socially 00:10:56.78000:10:56.790 i can be found on Google Plus Facebook 00:10:58.40000:10:58.410 and Twitter and I close each of my 00:11:00.17000:11:00.180 videos with be safe have fun and of 00:11:02.32900:11:02.339 course stay dirty I'll see you next time
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