Got this from the SoCal list. Very handy for you turbo guys...



building a leak tester from scratch (almost) - the definitive way

sorry.. (long)

ok, for those who don't know how to make one, here's a super easy,
pretty detailed way to make one. This thing has been instrumental in
finding a lot of things wrong with my car (before my testing
efforts, my system would NOT hold boost - can you imagine how much
pumping loss was being incurred?)

you will need:
- 2" - 2.25" PVC cap. They sell them at the hardware store (I'll
post a pic soon). they're sealed and rounded at one end, and open at
the other. flip it over, and it looks like a little cup. ($2)
- JB/Weld or high strength epoxy
- a tire valve - (free at JustTire - I just asked for one)

If you have it
- a compressor with a tire fitting

if you don't have it
- a big ass bike pump
- or a high power (best I could find was 90 cfh) electric compressor
that runs off the cigarette lighter. I found mine at pepboys for
$40. It's powerful enough for me to build up ~20psi in my system.

how to make it
1. drill a big hole in the cap so that you can push the tire valve
thru from the inside out. Make the hole just big enough (about 1/4"
or less) so that only the stem of the valve fits through. That way
the rest of it is inside the cap. I used a dremel on mine - PVC is
pretty easy to cut. DOn't breathe the fumes. They make you feel
kinda funny
2. seal the sucker with epoxy and let it dry

how to use it
1. if you use the stock intake snorkel, you'll need a hose coupler.
I have the injen pipe, so I just slipped the pipe off, and hooked up
the leak tester to the coupler and tightened down the clamp.
2. hook up your compressor/pump. When I used the bike pump, I found
it was handy to have a spare set of hands.
3. spray all the possible leak areas (see below) with soapy water.
When you've got a leak, it'll hiss like a snake and the air will make
bubbles where your soapy water is.
4. fix your leaks and try to get it to hold some pressure. Mine
will hold 20 psi for about 1-3 seconds, 15psi for about 20 seconds,
and 10psi for a few minutes.

possible leak areas:
1. any hose/boost coupler.
2. if you have a 16g (or maybe 20g too?) on the compressor outlet
flange
3. BOV outlet flange
4. throttle body gaskets
5. BISS screw
6. vacuum hoses

while you're testing, it's also a good idea to listen to your BOV so
you can figure out how much boost it'll hold. You can then adjust
it. Since the screw was stripped on my BOV, I found out that I was
holding almost zero boost.

You may want to check out this link from Jay Stewart for pics:

http://www.nx2k.com/eclipse/index.htm