Heater / Radiator Pressure Test

[PeterPortugal]

Hi All,

I want to pressure test the radiator cores in my W111 heater. can anybody tell me a value to use?

Also if anybody has done this themselves without any special tools I would be interested to hear how. I was intending to put the core in an empty bowl with the heater tap blanked off (somehow?) and connect a hosepipe to the radiator outlet and fill it from the upper floor of my house. This would put half a bar (8 PSI) on it. I was then going to leave it for a half hour to see if any water appeared in the bowl.

As usual all suggestions will be gratefully received.

Regards

Peter

[ja17]

Very inventive!  You could also close one outlet with a hose with clamps and a plug. Inject air at 14psi. submerge heater core assembly in water and watch for bubbles.

[PeterPortugal]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your reply. I like your method but I've (foolishly) reassembled the heater without pressure testing the cores. I don't want to disassemble it again because it's not an easy job to get them in and out !!

A colleague of mine often tells me "experience is something you get after you need it". Certainly true in this case !!

However I'll gratefully accept your suggestion of 14 PSI. Fortunately the layout of my house allows a 30ft elevation of hose which will give me 14 PSI.

Many Thanks

Peter

[ja17]

Should work fine Peter.  I am impressed of your knowledge of physics.  Not many others may remember that each foot of elevation will give your about .5 lb psi !

[PeterPortugal]

Hi Joe,
Another member sent me a personal message suggesting cutting a bicycle inner tube and fixing each end to the radiator inlet / outlet and seeing if the tube holds pressure when it's pumped up. If you can get a good seal it's a great solution !
We are an inventive lot on this forum !!
Regards
Peter

[hauser]

We had our Audi at the dealership in Coimbra, Portugal with a radiator leak.  To determine where the leak was coming from they performed a pressure test.  The cap of the overflow tank was removed and a pump was secured in its place.  They started to manually pump pressure into the cooling system and were able to detect the leak.

[Benz Dr.]

We had our Audi at the dealership in Coimbra, Portugal with a radiator leak.  To determine where the leak was coming from they performed a pressure test.  The cap of the overflow tank was removed and a pump was secured in its place.  They started to manually pump pressure into the cooling system and were able to detect the leak.

I've bought tools before and really never used them but a rad pressure tester isn't one of them. Diagnostic tools are a mechanics best friend. Knowing how to use them also doesn't hurt.