I need to replace a valve seal on my truck. My plan is to use the compressed air via hose into the spark plug thread (14mm, in this case), but I notice a lot of the tools out there have poor reviews (bad sealing, etc.). Anyone used one they actually liked?
I'm trying to imagine a hose with a fitting on each end, that gets bad reviews because it leaks. The two possibilities that come to mind are that the hose is worth six cents, and is made out of bicycle inner tubes from Bangladesh, or the person using it hasn't got a clue.
If you are talking about the spring compressor portion, there are all sorts of designs, some of which work on one style of engine, some that work on a different style. Again, if you don't know what you are doing, the tool won't work properly.
Slippery said:
- Remove sparkplugs
- Get the cylinder to BDC
- Feed nylon rope through sparkplug hole
- Rotate crank to TDC
- Change seals
Just make sure that you leave a bit of rope sticking out of the hole or you'll be in trouble.
Over the years I always just grab the hose off whatever compression tester I happen to have in my toolbox. They all use normal air hose quick connect fittings. Instead of snapping the gauge onto the hose, you snap a charged air hose onto it.
Who cares if it leaks a little bit ? You have to keep the air pouring into it anyway to hold the valve up tight. The rings and whatever blowby the engine has compels you to keep the air flowing anyway. What's an insignificant amount leaking from the hose (if any) ?
I used the hose off my Snap-On compression tester and it worked perfectly for me on a 2002 Corvette. Minimal leaks, a little pancake compressor kept it happy.
You'll need to log in to post.
