Leak-down tester

A leak-down tester is a measuring instrument used to

determine the condition of internal combustion engines
by introducing compressed air into the cylinder and mea-
suring the rate at which it leaks out.
Compression testing is a crude form of leak-down test-
ing which also includes eects due to compression ratio,
valve timing, cranking speed, and other factors. Com-
pression tests should normally be done with all spark plugs
removed to maximize cranking speed. Cranking com-
pression is a dynamic test of the actual low-speed pump-
ing action, where peak cylinder pressure is measured and
stored.
Leak-down testing is a static test. Leak-down tests cylin-
der leakage paths. Leak-down primarily tests pistons and
rings, seated valve sealing, and the head gasket.
Leak-down will not show valve timing and movement
problems, or piston movement related sealing problems.
Any test should include both compression and leak-down.
Testing is done on an engine which is not running, and
normally with the tested cylinder at top dead center on
compression, although testing can be done at other points
in the compression and power stroke. Pressure is fed into
a cylinder via the spark plug hole and the ow, which rep-
resents any leakage fromthe cylinder, is measured. Leak-
down tests tend to rotate the engine, and often require
some method of holding the crankshaft in the proper po-
sition for each tested cylinder. This can be as simple as
a breaker bar on a crankshaft bolt in an automatic trans-
mission vehicle, or leaving a manual transmission vehicle
in a high gear with the parking brake locked.
Leakage is given in wholly arbitrary percentages but these
percentages do not relate to any actual quantity or real
dimension. The meaning of the readings is only relative
to other tests done with the same tester design. Leak-
down readings of up to 20%are usually acceptable. Leak-
ages over 20% generally indicate internal repairs are re-
quired. Racing engines would be in the 1-10% range for
top performance, although this number can vary. Ideally,
a baseline number should be taken on a fresh engine and
recorded. The same leakage tester, or the same leakage
tester design, can be used to determine wear.
In the United States, FAA specications
[1]
state that en-
gines up to 1,000 cu in (16 L) engine displacement re-
quire an 0.040 in (1.0 mm) orice diameter, 0.250 in (6.4
mm) long, 60-degree approach angle. The input pressure
is set for 80 psi (550 kPa), and 60 psi (410 kPa) minimum
cylinder pressure is the accepted standard.
While the leak-down tester pressurizes the cylinder, the
mechanic can listen to various parts to determine where
any leak may originate. For example, a leaking exhaust
valve will make a hissing noise in the exhaust pipe while
a head gasket may cause bubbling in the cooling system.
1 How it works
This schematic shows the component parts of a typical leak-down
tester. The gauge on the right is held at a standard pressure by
adjusting the pressure regulator while the gauge on the left shows
an example reading of 85-or 15% leakage.
A leak-down tester is essentially a miniature ow meter
similar in concept to an air ow bench. The measuring
element is the restriction orice and the leakage in the
engine is compared to the ow of this orice. There will
be a pressure drop across the orice and another across
whatever leaks in the engine. Since the meter and engine
are connected in series, the ow is the same across both.
(For example: If the meter was unconnected so that all the
air escapes then the reading would be 0 or 100% leakage.
Conversely, if there is no leakage there will be no pressure
drop across either the orice nor the leak, giving a reading
of 100 or 0% leakage).
Gage meter faces can be numbered 0-100 or 100-0, indi-
cating either 0% at full pressure or 100% at full pressure.
There is no standard regarding the size of the restric-
tion orice for non-aviation use and that is what leads to
dierences in readings between leak-down testers gener-
ally available from dierent manufacturers. Most often
quoted though is a restriction with a .040in. hole drilled
in it. Some poorly designed units do not include a restric-
tion orice at all, relying on the internal restriction of the
1
2 2 REFERENCES
regulator, and give much less accurate results. In addi-
tion, large engines and small engines will be measured in
exactly the same way (compared to the same orice) but
a small leak in a large engine would be a large leak in a
small engine. A locomotive engine which gives a leak-
down of 10% on a leak-down tester is virtually perfectly
sealed while the same tester giving a 10% reading on a
model airplane engine indicates a catastrophic leak.
With a non-turbulent .040 orice, and with a cylinder
leakage eective orice size of .040, leakage would be
50% at any pressure. At higher leakages the orice can
become turbulent, and this makes ow non-linear. Also,
leakage paths in cylinders can be turbulent at fairly low
ow rates. This makes leakage non-linear with test pres-
sure. Further complicating things, nonstandard restric-
tion orice sizes will cause dierent indicated leakage
percentages with the same cylinder leakage. Leak down
testers are most accurate at low leakage levels, and the
exact leakage reading is just a relative indication that can
vary signicantly between instruments.
Some manufacturers use only a single gauge. In these
instruments, the orice inlet pressure is maintained auto-
matically by the pressure regulator. A single gauge works
well as long as leakage ow is much less than regulator
ow. Any error in the input pressure will produce a cor-
responding error in the reading. As a single gauge instru-
ment approaches 100% leakage, the leakage scale error
reaches maximum. This may or may not induce signi-
cant error, depending on regulator ow and orice ow.
At low and modest leakage percentages, there is little or
no dierence between single and dual gauges.
In instruments with two gauges the operator manually re-
sets the pressure to 100 after connection to the engine
guaranteeing consistent input pressure and greater accu-
racy.
Most instruments use 100 psi (690 kPa) as the input pres-
sure simply because ordinary 100psi gauges can be used
which corresponds to 100% but there is no necessity for
that pressure beyond that. Any pressure above 15 psi (100
kPa) will function just as well for measurement purposes
although the sound of leaks will not be quite as loud. Be-
sides leakage noise, indicated percentage of leakage will
sometimes vary with regulator pressure and orice size.
With 100 psi and a .030 orice, a given cylinder might
show 20% leakage. At 50 psi, the same cylinder might
show 30% leakage or 15% leakage with the same orice.
This happens because leakage ow is almost always very
turbulent. Because of turbulence and other factors, such
as seating pressures, test pressure changes almost always
change the eective orice formed by cylinder leakage
paths.
Metering orice size has a direct eect on leakage per-
centage.
Generally, a typical automotive engine pressurized to
more than 30-40 psi must be locked or it will rotate under
test pressure. The exact test pressure tolerated before ro-
tation is highly dependent on connecting rod angle, bore,
compression of other cylinders, and friction. There is less
tendency to rotate when the piston is at top dead center,
especially with small bore engines. Maximum tendency
to rotate occurs at about half stoke, when the rod is at
right angles to the crankshafts throw.
Due to the simple construction, many mechanics build
their own testers. Homemade instruments can function as
well as commercial testers, providing they employ proper
orice sizes, good pressure gauges, and good regulators.
2 References
[1] Advisory Circular 43.13-1B, chapter eight
3
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