Another injector pop tester question...

ghunt

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Not trying to beat a dead horse, but I guess Russ is out of town or something so I'm still trying to get this thing to work.

OK, the internals on my jack are similar to this guy's:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=224334

In that I have the pinhole in the inner pipe, and a hole in the nut that screws into the top. There is no flat ground in the threads on the top nut (I just found out that there was on the other jack I had been attempting to use).

I had been having problems both with it not actually holding pressure, and having pinholes where I had welded the pipe fitting int the top nut.

Last night I filled the pinhole in the pipe with JB weld inside and out, so it's good and sealed. I also ground down the weld around the nut and went over it VERY well (two passes) and it seems to be good. I also re-filled the hole on the upper nut.

I filled the jack with diesel tonight, and pumped it- and, well, with no injector on it I'm getting a good strong stream from the bare injector line (in fact it's pumping well enough to make the gauge needle jump when I pump it), but when I attach an injector, it's still not building or holding pressure. The needle will jump up to ~500 psi during the pump stroke but fall right back off. The good news is that I don't have any pinhole leaks this time.

Actually, just reading through the link I posted, some people are saying you need thread tape or silicone on the inner pipe threads...I guess I will try that.
 

Diesel JD

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I will say I think you should isolate theguage with a valve as the guy you're using for a guide here did. I think when mine failed the gauge let go from me beating on it. A professional told me even on his tester with a much tougher, more expensive gauge to isolate the gauge for flow and spray pattern testing. Only gently pump it up to wherever the injector cracks and observe. That still doesn't say why it won't hold more than 500 psi. Old Bull says you need to cut a relief hole in the jack piston and a + in the nipple at the bottom of it. I did so and it worked for awhile until I felt something "let go" inside. It's worth working on but this has been a project that has stumped me completely. From Cornblatt's writeup it's not clear that you still need the piston, but you do. I also have never properly attached a reservoir to the jack and instead used a funnel hung from a coathanger with 3/8" hose and a filter inline since it is low pressure. Also I have a good weld at the top of the jack but I can't get the top to seat very tightly with only that oring to hold it on without rolling the oring. I wonder if that is really enough to hold 1500+ psi.
 

ghunt

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Well...I tried the thread tape...and while it still wouldn't hold pressure, I did manage to pump it up to around 1800 psi (with some fast pumping) and it was bleeding off somewhat slowly. But, the old used injector I was using as a tester never did pop off, and then all the pinholes in the new welds managed to show themselves and started seeping fuel. After that it bled off very quickly again. Ugh, I don't know how people manage to get these things to work, because mine sure won't. -cuss

I don't even see how you would keep the piston in there and still have it work?
 

typ4

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I am out of town for 2 more weeks. Not happy but after this month will probably be laid off , so gotta work while its available. Sorry if my replies are slow, very busy at work. Dead tired when the day is over.
 

Diesel JD

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The guy you want to talk to about the homemade tester is Oldbull88 if you can get up with him. He has a real good writeup here and probably a better design than this guy. It was only after I listened to him that I had any luck whatsoever with these things. Russ really does a good job with keeping up with all of us, but his job is what keeps the replies slow sometimes. I really want to solve this problem but the more I think about it the more attractive trying to save up and buy a professional tester looks. I've already wasted a lot of time and money in jacks and fittings with little to show for it.
 

typ4

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I think a porta power pump would be way better than a jack, just sayin. I just got a liquid filled gauge for my tester and it is much nicer than the original.
 

ghunt

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I'm sure a portapower would be better but they're pretty pricey. Didn't see one anywhere for much under $80 recently.
 

Diesel JD

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Some guy here was building a pop tester out of a porta power pump. I agree with Russ, better than a jack but $20 or less new versus $200 and up new? I'd sacrifice a good used pump though if I could find one for 80 I'd do it.
 

OLDBULL8

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Gonna try and help you out one more time. Looked at the other guys pop tester.

You can leave the piston out by tapping that bleed hole and putting a screw in it like the other guy did. You no longer need the O'ring to seal the piston. You do need the seal on the nut as shown. For my gage 5000 lb. I got one at Harbor Freight for 10-12 bucs, it's glycerin filled. If you do this your pump should work. If you mess up the plastic ring, I just took a heavy plastic bottle, heated up the nut a little and pushed the nut thru the bottle, then trimmed the outer edge off for width.

Fix the fu&^%ing pin holes. Yeah I had a problem like that also. :D :rotflmao

Good nite,bed time.
 

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ghunt

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Mine didn't have an O-ring in the jack body to seal the piston except at the very top where I had to grind it out to attach the other fitting....I dunno.

Honestly I just now went and found a decently priced hydraulic hand pump online and bought it...I hope it works OK for this. I'm just tired of screwing with the jack.
 

bbjordan

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Building your own pop tester (for non-welders).

Building your own pop tester (for non-welders).

After acquiring a couple of diesel trucks and a couple more diesel engines, I really wanted to know how good my injectors were.
Sure, I could have taken them in to get tested, but if they were bad, then I just spent extra money that could have gone to new injectors.
I had seen articles on building your own pop tester from a hydraulic jack, but that meant welding and I don't have access to a welder.
So I bit the bullet and spent the cash on building my own pop tester. This is how I did it:

Item Description Price Supplier Part#

1 Hydraulic pump 4 ton 79.99 Princess Auto 1220987
2 Glycerine filled pressure gauge 0-2000 PSI 12.99 Princess Auto 8000833
3 2-1/4 NPTF x 1/4 NPTM Tee 4.99 Princess Auto 8058692
4 Hose Hydraulic 1/4 x 6' 18.99 Princess Auto 1290329
5 12mm x 1.5 Port x 1/4 NPT Solid 8.75 Ablility Hose & Fitting Calgary A-MP22-1204
6 One steel injector line borrowed from IP On hand
Total 125.71 Not including taxes

I just plumbed the pieces together with teflon tape as shown and pumped the hydraulic oil out and put in diesel fuel. I now use biodiesel.
The hardest piece to find was item 5, the adapter from 1/4 NPT to the thread size on the injector line fitting.

I probably didn't need the 6' hose, but it gave me some flexibility as to the placement. I used an old glass grape seed oil bottle to contain the spray.
Being glass, its easy to see the spray pattern. It also has a nice plastic rim to protect the glass.

This simple pop tester has not only allowed me to test the opening pressure of the injectors, but to observe the spray pattern and to hear the distinct scream a properly functioning injector makes. I have now rebuilt 3 sets of injectors, and am VERY happy with my pop tester. See Rebuilding IDI Injectors.
At $ 125. + tax its not cheap, but its less than the price of one Power Stroke injector!

For my US friends, I think Harbour Freight is similar Princess Auto.

While you are shopping, you might as well get some Nitril gloves. I get them by the box of 100 now. Save your hands! Your girlfriend will appreciate your soft clean fingers as well. ;)

Be sure to wear your safety gear and happy testing!
 

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Dieselcrawler

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jordan, one thing with your. if you remove the fill plug, install a fitting into there and run a hose from that into a reserve bottle, it will pull the fuel outa the bottle and into the pump. mine is this was and works great.
 

ghunt

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Yeah AFTER I bought the hydraulic pump, I found a 10-ton portapower online for like $40....I spent about $70 on mine, but I will be able to use it for other things too so it's not a huge deal I suppose...
 

Dieselcrawler

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heres how mine is.
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that hose is into the bottol all the way and as you pump it will pull out of there and keep the resivior filled.

you can see the level in the second pic in the hose. it doesnt keep the hose full, but is always feeding the pump.
 
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