rowanellis•1mo agoTop Commenter

Chose a $60 coolant pressure tester over a $300 one from the truck brand shop

Last week my 6.0 Powerstroke started puking coolant at the degas bottle again. I was gonna drop $300 at the International dealer for their branded pressure tester but my buddy at the diesel shop in Denver said grab the OTC one from Napa for $60. Figured what the hell. It held pressure fine, found the leak at the EGR cooler gasket within 10 minutes. Has anyone else had good luck with cheaper diagnostic tools like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_rowan1mo ago

Spend the extra cash on the truck-brand tool because cheap testers fail when you need them most.

elizabeth9001mo ago

Did you check the radiator cap too? I had a buddy who went through three pressure testers, cheap and expensive ones, chasing a coolant leak on his Duramax. Turned out the cap was bad the whole time, he just never thought to test it separate from the system. That little piece cost him like 12 bucks at AutoZone and fixed it right up. Made me laugh because he spent way more on tools than the actual fix.

jamie_smith8d ago

Elizabeth900 brings up a good point. Reminds me of my old Ford F-150. Had a slow leak that drove me nuts for months. I was checking hoses, the water pump, the whole system. Finally, my neighbor came over and popped the cap off. He showed me the rubber seal was all cracked and hard. New cap from the parts store was less than ten bucks. Fixed the leak and made me realize I'd been overthinking the whole thing.