May 9, 200520 yr Hi everyone, ever the worrier I am now concerned for the health of my brand new STi rad cap. Graham Goode Racing sent me the cap in an ENVELOPE! I expected them to pack into a sturdy box. The blister pack the contains the cap itself has obviously been crushed a number of times, meaning that the spring has been compressed to the maximum. Can it handle this? Can I trust the pressure rating now?
May 9, 200520 yr Author Where I am gonna find a shop that will pressure test. I find that every time I want something specific done, no-one can, knows how, or even cares :-(
May 9, 200520 yr but nearly every shop here that does cooling systems has a pressure tester that tests caps and cooling systems. The testing kits are actually fairly cheap now (I paid about $300 for my first one.) In some cases you can simulate the job with a bicycle pump. You have to put a tire valve somewhere in the system and if your bike pump has a gauge you just see where the cap relieves. I was testing a water manifold leak on my Pontiac the other day and was too cheap to buy a kit. I used a $.79 tire valve and drilled a hole in the cap. I pumped up the bike pump and it showed me the leak. Of course if you want to test the cap you might need to tap into a heater hose or such.
May 9, 200520 yr Author Pressure testing the cooling system wouldn't be such a hassle, but testing a cap is more tricky. You need a fitting that will accept that exact size of cap.
May 9, 200520 yr to check all common types. As far as doing it yourself all you need is to tap into the system somewhere.
May 10, 200520 yr Hitch hiking on cookie's suggestion, Put the radiator cap on the radiator. Make up a little manifold with a gauge and hose that will screw into the radiator bleed hole. Any other port or removed sensor hole in the cooling system will also work Pressurize the cooling system with a bicycle pump 'till the cap pops and note the pressure in the gauge.
May 10, 200520 yr Author Well, I don't feel like emptying my cooling system since I just changed the fluid. The cap went haywire a few days later. I already have a new stock cap on there, so it works as per factory specs. I just wanted to use a high pressure cap, for trackdays like the one I am going on today. My problem is I cant be sure of the pressure in the STi cap anymore. I have found three Japanese dealerships in my local area and will be calling them in a few minutes when they open. Hopefully one of them will have the right equipment to test the cap with!
May 10, 200520 yr Author WELL! Nissan, doesn't have the equipment. Suzuki, doesn't have the equipment. Funnily enough, neither does Toyota! How do these CAPITAL CITY Stealerships get away with it?? I phoned a radiator shop, and they can't pressure test a cap either!! All of them insisted that the spring could not have been damaged. Hopefully they are right, but I don't like the thought of the spring having been compressed past it's normal working range.
May 10, 200520 yr Gezzz thats a bit slack of them not to have the equipment, especaly the radiator shop. i pressure tested a cap on an 02 RV Impreza on friday it was a piece of piss
May 10, 200520 yr Author The guy at Toyota said "boil it, and you should see it open." Erm, I said rad cap, not thermostat. But he insisted I put it in boiling water???
May 10, 200520 yr The guy at Toyota said "boil it, and you should see it open." Erm, I said rad cap, not thermostat. But he insisted I put it in boiling water??? Either I'm way way off in my understanding of the workings of rad caps or rad caps are pressure and not temperature operated.
May 10, 200520 yr everybody was smoking something that answer might have made sense. I am a bit mystified that nobody has the equipment to test a simple radiator cap. Perhaps you could buy a tester and open a franchise operation.
May 11, 200520 yr everybody was smoking something that answer might have made sense. I am a bit mystified that nobody has the equipment to test a simple radiator cap. Perhaps you could buy a tester and open a franchise operation. I'm with you on that idea maybe he should
May 11, 200520 yr everybody was smoking something that answer might have made sense. I am a bit mystified that nobody has the equipment to test a simple radiator cap. Perhaps you could buy a tester and open a franchise operation. And how much could you charge to test a $10 device? Doesn't sound like a road to riches to me
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