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Found this on a Toyota forum. Seems legit. Just gonna put this here to see what you guys think.
This works on any water cooled engine.
Tools needed, spark plug wrench
Parts needed, balloon, or latex glove and rubber band, plug for overflow tube outlet
The balloon test:
Cooling system must be intact, all hoses connected and tight.
With or without coolant, doesn't matter, as long as the cooling system is sealed up.
Cold engine is best, just easier to work on, but temp doesn't matter, i.e. thermostat doesn't need to be open.
The setup:
Remove all spark plugs
Remove Rad cap
Remove overflow tube from rad cap opening
Plug overflow tube opening, short rubber tube with bolt in it works fine.
Stretch balloon over rad cap opening, I use a latex glove and rubber band instead.
Remove EFI(fuel injection) fuse, I don't do this but included it for those that that feel it should be done. It prevents gas from coming into cylinder during test.
The test:
Put one spark plug back in, DO NOT hook up the spark plug wire to it, I use a compression tester instead so I can test compression as well.
Turn over engine a few times, watch balloon/glove
Remove spark plug and put it in the next cylinder to test, repeat for all cylinders.
Balloon/glove will "dance" if the cylinder being tested has a leak into the cooling system, can't miss it, it really moves if there is a leak.
If you find a leak keep testing until all cylinders have been tested, there could be more than one leak.
This works on any water cooled engine.
Tools needed, spark plug wrench
Parts needed, balloon, or latex glove and rubber band, plug for overflow tube outlet
The balloon test:
Cooling system must be intact, all hoses connected and tight.
With or without coolant, doesn't matter, as long as the cooling system is sealed up.
Cold engine is best, just easier to work on, but temp doesn't matter, i.e. thermostat doesn't need to be open.
The setup:
Remove all spark plugs
Remove Rad cap
Remove overflow tube from rad cap opening
Plug overflow tube opening, short rubber tube with bolt in it works fine.
Stretch balloon over rad cap opening, I use a latex glove and rubber band instead.
Remove EFI(fuel injection) fuse, I don't do this but included it for those that that feel it should be done. It prevents gas from coming into cylinder during test.
The test:
Put one spark plug back in, DO NOT hook up the spark plug wire to it, I use a compression tester instead so I can test compression as well.
Turn over engine a few times, watch balloon/glove
Remove spark plug and put it in the next cylinder to test, repeat for all cylinders.
Balloon/glove will "dance" if the cylinder being tested has a leak into the cooling system, can't miss it, it really moves if there is a leak.
If you find a leak keep testing until all cylinders have been tested, there could be more than one leak.
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