DIY Pressure Tester?

TEC · 02-01-2017, 05:40 AM

Anyone have a DIY on how to pressure test the turbo system (piping, intercooler, charge pipe, etc)? I think I may have a leak somewhere but I would like to test the system to make sure.

What I am thinking of as a pressure tester is like what we use to make way back when. We would buy a PVC pipe cap, drill a hole in it, then insert a bicycle air valve into the PVC cap. Then you could attach the cap to one end of the cars turbo system, set your compressor regulator to a desired output pressure (i always used 30psi of tank pressure) and connect the compressor to the air valve. If the compressor tank stayed full you knew the system was tight, if it leaked you could usually hear where it was leaking from.

Does anyone have something simple like this to test these cars?

limitdown · 02-01-2017, 07:57 AM

$10 DIY smoke tester
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1185791

TEC · 02-01-2017, 11:27 AM

Ahhh cool. So that method works for these cars as well.

limitdown · 02-02-2017, 07:37 AM

Yes, I bought these exact parts. I've used my DIY rig 3 or 4 times already.
Using smoke helps a lot because you can visually see the smoke coming out from leaky spots.

BeastMode335i · 02-02-2017, 11:36 AM

I used that method as well, and also used another tester that I made to measure mmhg that was used to check out my PCV system..

02-01-2017, 05:40 AM	#1
TEC Second Lieutenant 109 Rep 235 Posts Drives: 355 Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: East Coast iTrader: (1)	DIY Pressure Tester? Anyone have a DIY on how to pressure test the turbo system (piping, intercooler, charge pipe, etc)? I think I may have a leak somewhere but I would like to test the system to make sure. What I am thinking of as a pressure tester is like what we use to make way back when. We would buy a PVC pipe cap, drill a hole in it, then insert a bicycle air valve into the PVC cap. Then you could attach the cap to one end of the cars turbo system, set your compressor regulator to a desired output pressure (i always used 30psi of tank pressure) and connect the compressor to the air valve. If the compressor tank stayed full you knew the system was tight, if it leaked you could usually hear where it was leaking from. Does anyone have something simple like this to test these cars?
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02-01-2017, 07:57 AM	#2
limitdown First Lieutenant 187 Rep 337 Posts Drives: 2007 335i E93 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Location iTrader: (0)	$10 DIY smoke tester http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1185791
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02-01-2017, 11:27 AM	#3
TEC Second Lieutenant 109 Rep 235 Posts Drives: 355 Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: East Coast iTrader: (1)	Ahhh cool. So that method works for these cars as well.
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02-02-2017, 07:37 AM	#4
limitdown First Lieutenant 187 Rep 337 Posts Drives: 2007 335i E93 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Location iTrader: (0)	Yes, I bought these exact parts. I've used my DIY rig 3 or 4 times already. Using smoke helps a lot because you can visually see the smoke coming out from leaky spots.
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02-02-2017, 11:36 AM	#5
BeastMode335i Maximus Decimus Meridius 1132 Rep 4,586 Posts Drives: F30 335i Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Down South iTrader: (2)	I used that method as well, and also used another tester that I made to measure mmhg that was used to check out my PCV system.. __________________ F30 335i Melbourne Red Metallic M-Sport Package
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