I've read up on the 5 dollar boost leak detector, and while it's great for a quick diagnosis on the road, I wanted one that met certain criteria for my home use:
-quick disconnect for hands free operation
-ball valve to turn on or off.
-Pressure gauge to keep an eye on things without running to look at my boost gauge or compressor gauge.
-Pressure regulator to adjust things easily to see just how everything responds to different boost levels.
So, I set off to my friendly neighborhood Lowe's and picked up the following items:
A 2 inch slip on bushing with a 1/2" NPT threaded opening. This fit my lower IC couplers perfectly, I'll have to find an adapter to hook it to my turbo inlet as my intake is 4"
also pictured is a 1/2" to 1/4" adapter that is required for this project. This was glued in, so I couldn't separate it for pictures.
TWO 1/4" male to male adapters:
A 1/4" ball valve
A 1/4" female quick connector for whatever style compressor hose you're using.
and a mini regulator, ~$18 or so.
Assemble it like so:
use plenty of this:
Finished product:
I know it costs quite a bit more than 5 bucks, more like ~ 30, but the fact that I can leave my compressor hooked up, know exactly how much pressure I'm pushing, and shut it off at any moment is worth it to me. Not to mention I can really get in and search without having to worry if I'm running out of air.
I found leaks in my BOV banjo fitting, wastegate source, 2 couplers, brake booster source, and the infamous throttle body shaft leak. Well worth the money. If there's any questions, comments, flaming, death threats, etc.. feel free
How to: make a slightly more baller boost leak detector
