911mhawk

Jack up car, support engine, undo two motor mount bolts on either side, lower engine until it's at the crossmember and you now have a little more room.

iotapi322

So I connected my pressure testers directly to the y pipe which made all the difference in the world, I can actually build some pressure now... I'm thinking where the pressure hoses connect to the intercooler might have been a leak so I have new O rings and wire clamps coming. However there is still a major leak you can hear on top of the engine so must be a check valve.

pfbz

The primary check valve that fails is #16, and you don't usually hear it at the top of the engine since it dumps (through a hard line hose) down into the drivers side turbo inlet...

A leak sound coming from the top of the engine could be one of many hoses, the small check valves, diverters, f-pipe, or many other spots. Start spraying it down with soapy water and trying to isolate the area that the leak noise is coming for.

It's also a bit weird that you have more problems testing at the intercooler intakes than at the y-pipes... I had the opposite problem.

fpb111

Get some Tygon tube and put one end to your ear while you hunt around for the leak with the open end.

pfbz

I started this thread a while ago, but never finished up with a description of my V3 boost leak testers...

Pressure testing at the airbox and then turbo intakes were o.k. for helping me find big leaks, but also had me chasing phantom leaks (through the turbo oiling system).

Pressurizing at the intercooler inlets worked best, here's the info:

Best place to test:

• At intercooler inlet hoses.

Needed:

• Two 1-1/2” PVC Schedule 40 plugs. (tricky to find! Finally found them at Ace Big Tool Box on Holly, downstairs.)
• One tank valve, 1/8” NPT (schraeder air valve with npt threads on one side)
• 7/16” drill bit the right size for 1/4” NPT thread.
• plumbing tape
• Optional: 2” air gauge with 1/4” NPT thread
• Optional: 1/4” NPT tap.

Build it:

• Roughen plugs with coarse sandpaper and wrap a few layers of heavy, non-slippery tape around them to prevent them from ejecting when you pressurize the system!
• Drill first plug.
• Optionally tap with actual tap. In pinch, you can probably tap the plastic just with the brass valve itself.
• Wrap plumbing tape on tank valve
• screw in tank valve.
• Use second plug without drilling, just as a blank plug, and check pressure with external gauge.
• Optionally buy a 1/4” NPT gauge and install it on the second plug.

Test:

• Insert plug with tank valve on one side
• Insert blank plug (or plug with gauge) on other side.
• Pressurize system, remove air hose, see if it holds pressure.
• Pressurize low at first, and never exceed 1 bar unless you know your system can handle it.
• Listen for leaks, look for leaks, spray soapy water for leaks.
• Iterate through finding and repairing leaks until it holds pressure with very slow loss.

docwyte

All that was needed was some gentle prodding....

pfbz

Yup! Thanks for the nudge! Honestly if I don't document this stuff either in my electronic notes or on a forum post, I forget the details.