OTC Leak Down Tester: www.amazon.com... This video is for entertainment purposes only. 50sKid assumes no liability for any repairs or modifications performed by the viewer as a result of the information contained in this video.
Finally!!! Somebody that knows what they’re doing. There are dozens of videos on RU-vid on how to do a cylinder leak down test and almost all of them are wrong. So many people pressurize the tester BEFORE they plug it into the cylinder adapter hose, which is dumb as hell. It’s nice to see it done the CORRECT way. Great video. Thank You!!
Dude, ive watched sooo many of your videos from disa, compression radiator and codes. Youve covered, and saved me from so much guess work. Thanks for all the great info i hope you keep it up!!
FYI. As a general safety tip, DO NOT leave your socket wrench or breaker bar on the crank pulley while you're testing the cylinders. You do not want the wrench flying into your head or slamming it into parts of the car.
I know this video is a couple years old now, but just a little advice for those watching. Do yourself a favor and add a ball valve to the intake side of your leakdown tester. It will save some wear and tear on your wrists. You'll want to open it slowly so you don't force the engine to rotate by over zealously pressurizing the combustion chamber you're testing, but it's much easier than spinning the pressure control knob five or six turns twice per cylinder.
Great information. I hope you persist with keeping the car in good condition. I take heart at your willingness to solve these issues in your home garage without lifts, etc. Please keep up the good work! Thanks.
if it comes out of another cylinder spark plug hole wouldn't that be a blown head gasket between the two cyls. OR is it possible for the air to go down past the rings on one cylinder and then come up past the rings on another cylinder? maybe it's funny but it just occurred to me.
Awesome video again! Buying an E46 with M54 engine is my dream. I know this car is high maintenance demanding (read expensive). It takes so much time, so much energy. But after watching how easy can you deal with it...man, my dream still lives.Sending regards from Europe / Czech Republic, you're doing great!P.S.: Looking forward to video of engine rebuilding :)
Lol, yeah, I swapped just a M54B30 into a e36 and now Im a little scared of this things.. But hey, this videos are gold! Another greeting form Czech Republic :D Ale výkonostně to je pecka, di za svým snem, aspoň si už informovanej :D
Lost basically all compression in cyl. 2, did a leakdown test (cold), and got roughly 8-9% loss on all cylinders with the exception of 2 which is nearly 100% leakage. Cyl. 2 leakdown test has the majority of the air is escaping through cyl. 3 spark plug hole with minimal air escaping past the rings, intake and exhaust valves (very similar to all of the healthy cylinders). Cyl. 3 leakdown test is one of the healthy tests with minimal loss. My confusion lies in the fact that I cannot find any air, or not much is escaping to cyl. 2 and out the spark plug hole when testing 3. Shouldn't a blown head gasket between cyl 2 and 3 flow both ways (from 2-3 and from 3-2) or would the piston at TDC on 3 have something to do with in not flowing back to 2. I will be pulling the head as i have no choice, was just curios as to whether or not anyone had any experience with something weird like this.
Ah but in the old days you had high tension piston rings that would wear the bores down such that after 150k miles you needed to rebore that block, whereas today you can get away with a re-ring job!
50sKid I guess, aluminium blocks do have their advantages but I just think the disadvantages out weigh them, including other petty problems such as wrecking the sump (oil drain) thread and spark plug thread. Anyway your e46 videos are great, just a shame you are having so many problems with it. I know the feeling.. lol
Duuuuude. Sorry to hear about the health of your motor. However if anyone can make fixing it clear and concise and easy to follow I know you can. Def sounds like an overheating issue on the head. I'd be interested in seeing you pull the pistons with the motor still in the car but will be waiting and watching your progress. Good luck!
Thanks for the support! I'm leaning towards pulling the block specifically because I've learned that you can't remove the oil squirter on cylinder #6 with the crank still in the block because the crank sensor impulse wheel is in the way, so running the hone to deglaze it wouldn't be possible. Oh well. The nice thing about this whole mess is knowing I'll get a faster car at the end of the project.
I was taught to put a piece of paper like a little bit of paper towel to cork the spark plug hole or to even just listen for the air loss when finding TDC. The paper would pop out upon TDC. My question is, pending the design of an engine, could the screwdriver method ever cause any damage to the piston when it comes up? Great video! Liked and subscribed….
i was using a screw driver one time and every time the cylinder comes up it will jam the screw driver. there must be a better way out there. maybe someone should make a tool sort of like a spark plug that has a gauge or pointer on it
It’s called a dial indicator and you can just break an old spark plug off and use that. The screwdriver can and has caused damage to many an engine from people using that method.
Have you checked the Oil-Dipstick? If you open it up the pressure of the crankcase will release better than by just opening the Oil-fill-Cap, because of the Check Valves in the Head to remain some Oil in there. If the Pressure is still coming out of the other Zylinders, you might have to Change your Head-Gasket. Worped Heads on the M54 are very unlikely if the car hasnt overheated. Greetings from Germany :)
Ah but you're not thinking about the oil drain holes in the head & block for the oil to drain back down to the pan. There are no check valves there. Blow-by has to have an unobstructed way to get up to the valve cover and exit the engine, and that is how. Also, another reason I don't use the oil dipstick tube is because it is submerged within the oil in the pan and depending on that level, the relief hole in the side of the tube may or may not be submerged as well, causing the air to have to bubble down through the oil to travel into the tube. Greetings from California!
Hey man! Great videos. I've been watching for a long time and I have used your videos for all my DIY's so far (VANOS rebuild and oil filter housing gasket are next on my list). When I bought my 320Ci 2 years ago, I was burning 1L of oil every 900ish Miles or so. Now, it's more around 500miles/L. It's getting pretty crazy and I fear for the piston rings. By the way, you have forty-six E46 Repair videos! :) Howdy from the UK. 2004 320Ci 102k miles.
Hey, thanks for the comment. I've actually recently started a thread on e46fanatics where I wanted to hear from everybody as to how much oil they are burning and someone in that thread is adamant that the 320s don't burn oil, so it's nice (for me) to hear proof but of course it sucks for you that you have the same problem that many others, including myself, have. I have a video coming up on how to install a catch can, which many people report helps cure the issue. Pretty crazy that I have that many videos on just this car already, but that was the goal of course!
It's always nice to have some reassurance from a group of people, as opposed to worrying you're the only one having the problem. I've heard the same things to, but as you said, I can say first hand it's not true. Do you mind posting the link to the thread? Cool man, looking forward to the video!
Awesome detailed information!! Definitely appreciate the technical details in the pressure test and information on the head gasket leaks both between cylinders and cross contamination from cooling fluid into cylinders. I'm looking forward to seeing how you take care of the oil consumption problem. I wouldn't worry too much about the pressure numbers if no symptoms are really present. Either way, I'm looking forward to more informative videos. Excellent work partner!
5:12 - you are doing it completely wrong which will give you quite useless data for the whole operation... you have to calibrate the tool first with the otput hose unplugged and never turn the calibration knob when the output hose is connected - you can only turn it when you want to calibrate it again before measuring the next cylinder ! (just to check if the shop air has changed or not; and you dont need exactly 100 psi air either then, thanks to the calibration knob). plus you could probably save some twisting time by following the actual firing order...
I don’t understand why the hot pressures are less than the cold ones! Shouldn’t the hot pressure figures be higher because everything is sealing better!
Is it worth including the engine block test for any leak as well? Any leakage during the piston TDC should be the same when the piston down. Any difference is considered as engine block leak.
Also Radiator and Coolant Tanks are very common to get bad even without Overheating. The Radiator gets warped and the Tank gets replaced also, so i wont call that a proof for overheating.
I'm about to do a leak down test on my n42 318i 'coz it's consuming about the same about of oil as yours. my bet is that my valve seals are shot as all the symptoms point there. just wondering if you were able to get the head machined and if you solved your problem with the oil leak?
I have a fuel dilution issue. My oil smells like fuel and it looks like there is fuel in there as well. I have a 2004 m3. I recently replaced my fuel injectors that were absolutely pissing fuel, and I noticed a rising fuel level before i replaced them. After the replacement and an oil change, it still smells of fuel and looks like there is still some in there. I am hoping it might be residual fuel left in the engine, and that if i do another oil change or at least flush it out with clean oil, my issue will go away. If not, it’s a new mystery i have to solve. I was wondering if you have any input on that, thanks.
@@JTapia512 It sort of did. I don’t know if it’s like a placebo thing, but I still think I smell fuel and it might just be that way forever. I do regular oil sample analysis and everything has been fine since replacing the injectors, so it doesn’t bother me anymore
Wow this a great video, sorry to hear about your head gasket. do you think that maybe if you remove the valve cover and re-tighten the head bolts it might fix the compression leak? It's worth a shot if you have to remove the head anyway.
I wish it were that easy! Unfortunately, it's extremely likely that if I try to tighten the bolts at all, they will strip out. It's a known problem with this engine block and other aluminum blocks like it. I will probably have to install steel threaded inserts called timeserts to repair that.
so checc this out. I'm having the same issue. I've tried the seafoam it worked but then the car cuts bacc off as if it lost compression again... I'm confused at this point. I'ma try what you have . I've changed camshaft sensors, crank shaft, fuel pump, spark plugs etc I had a reading that said that I had multiple misfires ... After I tried this fix . Should I try it again?
very helpful and informative information, I actually learned something from the white board and the leak down test ! thanks again! keep em coming (valve stem seals) =p would be nice
Quick question. While turning the wrench to get TDC, you mentioned you went a little too far and had to back up (reversed ratchet). Does going in "reverse" affect or damage the engine. Or is it only supposed to turn in one direction? Thank you very much!
Just wondering, has anyone done a leak down check on an E46 lately and NOT had cyl leaks? Looking to see if there's a "valid" 100% "no loss" engine? Thanks.
Hey great video I have a fuel cut out on cylinder #6 have replaced disa valve cause of leaking oring have did the ccv and all the lines did all vacuum lines intake gasket valve cover gasket coil and spark plugs MAF sensor what could be my problem head gasket the code is a P01353
it should be between 230 and 260 psi per cylinder I watched a bmw video not to long ago about building a bmw motor so look into it the rings might be bad too the video I watched the guy did the piston rings and the head gasket and timing chains
yes I really enjoy your videos and you have inspired me to do work on my bmw but keep up the good work and the detail on teaching others on how to do things the right way and save a ton of money thank you for the great videos
hey there 50sKid ,so i did a leak down test on my M52 because i had a cyl1 misfire I first tried compresion test i go (0-cyl1)(190-cyl2)( 185cyl3)(190 -cyl4 )(185 -cyl5 )(180-cyl6) then i tried the leak down test and Cyl1 leaked on cyl3 + cyl6 and thru the spark plug on cyl1 even tho i had the test tool really tight thru it.please where do you think the problem is ? thank you
I was only citing the instructions from otc which i found strange. Not worried so much about easy math as i am about accuracy. otc wants you to regulate the tool at 10 psi less than your tank pressure so if you have 110 coming into the tool then u can set it to 100 and have the easier math, but otc says for best results use the tool at 90 and have your incoming air from the tank at 100. I really enjoy your videos by the way!
Ah sorry man, I will defer to OTCs instructions on that. I think they probably recommend 90psi because that seems to be the standard safe operating pressure for every air tool, however we all turn our pressure up way higher than that.
yeah that makes sense. accuracy is important to me be because at volvo in order to get approval to fix oil consumption on some cars you need leak down numbers and i dont want to gain or lose approval on a false reading ya know?
I've totally thought about that! I have a buddy, who's a tig welder, who makes beautiful custom intakes for blown S54s and he's like "dude, let's make you something fast!" Oh, if I only had the money, lol.
Wow, can you make a video about those, or does he have a channel ? I would love to build something like that also for my m54 race car project. M54s are also pretty good under moderate boost, you can easily get 300, or above 400 if you are willing to risk more :) .
I'm watching this video because I found the dreaded milky goo on my oil filler cap. Wasn't very much at all...also the coolant looks fine and the dipstick doesn't have any on it. Any help would be great
+Dee yes it can. The method in that updated video was unnecessary and just ended up being confusing and I didn't want it out there. Do it the way you see in this video. The numbers you get are correct
that really sucks... I watched all your vids on this car. I can't believe it has this many problems. did you buy the knowing about its poor condition? great for making vids but damn...
Yeah I bought this car because I wanted a project car. I knew it had certain issues. I did not know it had THIS particular issue. And I definitely didn't think I would have the transmission issues that I did, but, like you said... makes for good videos. I hope everyone can see that I'm not getting frustrated with all this stuff and driving the car off a cliff with no one in it, but rather dealing with it all in stride. That's how I am.
Yeah I hear you, but it didn't happen to me once. Perhaps because air was busy leaking out rather than building up and having no where else to go? But, yes, I should have removed the ratchet, actually, to practice safe test.
That video isn't working. Do you have another link? I get zero compression on cylinder 2 and it all comes out of 3, but on 3 I get only 2% leakage through the oil pan.
when you use the otc leakdown tester,,,and you put pressure ,, do you listen some hissing from the gauges? mine do and i would like to know its normal or is junk
I may have an open valve on 4 its still reads 0 on compression test and holds no pressure in leak down, head gasket is fine. I don't see any oil mixed with water. Took valve cover off and pushed on on intake lifted and its really soft. Could it be that or weak spring or bent valve? I don't want to take head off unless I have to
A bent or burned valve is always a possibility but where was the air leaking out of when you did the leak down? Exhaust pipe? Intake tube? Radiator? Oil cap? Adjacent spark plug hole? You have to open up everything when you do a leak down and listen.
Adjacent spark plug hole. Thought it was a gasket at first until I took valve cover off and pushed on intake lifter and it was really soft. Its an m54b30 in an e39 2001 530i
Its strange because its the #4 cylinder and air comes out of 5 but 5 holds pressure and has good comp. I'm still wonderjng if itd still the head gasket on the inner side of the cylinder bores?
This is one big scam with emission controls and technical exams. Manufacturers either don't know how to solve oil burning problem (which I highly doubt) or they do it deliberately, which is more likely. From a top manufacturer engine to burn so much oil, even when a car is new is criminal!
