Home-made boost checker tool

One of the most basic troubleshooting skills on a forced induction motor is finding leaks in the pressurized system. To accomplish this, one must be capable of verifying the integrity of the entire intake system while under pressure. This is no simple task on a running engine under positive pressure boost conditions!

To accomplish this on a Corrado G60, I fabricated a simple tool using easily obtainable items from my local home store. Using sections of 2.25" PVC pipe and end caps I cut them and assembled them using PVC cement. Then I drilled a hole in the end of one of the caps and installed a Schraeder type tire valve available in any automobile parts store.

Parts needed:

(2) ~6" lengths of 2.25" OD PVC Pipe

(2) 2.25" PVC endcaps

PVC Cement

(1) Schraeder Tire Valve

(1) Bicycle hand pump with pressure guage.

To use it, disconnect the section of intake tract that you want to test, clamp one of the pvc pipe securely to each end (Very Important! I've sent PVC endcaps flying across the garage with only 10lbs of pressure!)

Then, using the bicycle pump, pressurize the system to ~10 psi. A properly sealing intake tract will leak down slowly dissipating to zero pounds of pressure after about 60 seconds. If your intake tract looses pressure too quickly, then you have an unacceptable leak which is robbing your engine of horsepower. Finding leaks with this tool is simple and easy. With the engine off, you can actually hear the leaks and identify their location allowing you to make the necessary repairs. See illustration below.

Common leaks occur under the O-rings of the CO Potentiometer. Loose hose clamps or deteriorating boost tubes is another common source of leaks. Finally, if you are still using experiencing pressure losses, check the Silencer box which is attached to the back of your glader. You will find that this item is very prone to leaking air pressure. Replace it or get the Bahn Brenner RSR outlet which eliminate the silencer box completely from your system. See the Bahn Brenner RSR outlet installed on a glader below.