Hey guys so I searched and searched and could not find anything about EXACTLY how to build one of these, so I did it myself and it worked great for me.
Here's how I did it.
First you need a source for pressure.
I used a bike pump I bought last year to pump up...you guessed it bike tires. It has a built in gauge. It was under $10 at the big box home improvement store.
The pump came with some little adapters to allow you to pump up other things, I've never used those things before, but I figured I would hang on to them, glad I did.
Here's a pic of the one I used.
Ok Then I took the hose off of the pump for the lower unit gear oil.
The hose (the end that attached to the actual pump) attached nicely to the cone shaped adapter and I used a zip tie as a hose clamp. You can get fancier, but I didn't have any hose clamps around that small...and this is only a temporary set-up. I also put a wrap of electrical tape around the end that fits into the pump for a better seal. Make sure you do the tape before you get it all grease, or your fingers. Then I put the threaded, threads now covered with electrical tape, into the end of the bike pump and closed the lever.
Here's a closeup of that.
If any of you are wondering if this really holds air you could do what I did.
Fill up the sink and drop the hose/cone adapter/bike pump nozzle into the sink. Shake the bubbles off and put you thumb over the end of the screw-in part of the lube pump. You can easily hold 15-20 pounds with your thumb and if you have leaks you will see bubbles.
Then I just screwed the end into the lower unit, either hole, and pumped it up to 10 lbs. Left it for 30 minutes and luckily I didn't have any leaks.
Here's a pic of the whole set up.
Now for the vacuum source.
After that I went to the auto parts store that rhymes with auto cone and they have a free loan-a-tool program. You basically buy the used tool and then return it when your done. I use it all the time. They don't care how long you keep it and no daily fees. Great when working on the car too. I got the vacuum pump from them ($55) Then you just take the cone adapter out of the bike pump, leave it in the lube pump hose, and put the vacuum pump hose on it. I used another zip tie for that too. Pump it up to about 10 psi vacuum and leave it for 30 minutes.
Here's a pic of that too.
Then I took it all apart and took the vacuum pump back. Got my $55 bucks back and I'm right back where I started, money wise anyway.
I have now pressure and vacuum tested my lower unit and it didn't cost anything.
Mine passed by the way.
Even if you don't have all that stuff I bet you can figure a way to make it work for you.
thanks for all the great info I have gotten on here over the years
I think this is my first post...hope it helps somebody.
Here's how I did it.
First you need a source for pressure.
I used a bike pump I bought last year to pump up...you guessed it bike tires. It has a built in gauge. It was under $10 at the big box home improvement store.
The pump came with some little adapters to allow you to pump up other things, I've never used those things before, but I figured I would hang on to them, glad I did.
Here's a pic of the one I used.
Ok Then I took the hose off of the pump for the lower unit gear oil.
The hose (the end that attached to the actual pump) attached nicely to the cone shaped adapter and I used a zip tie as a hose clamp. You can get fancier, but I didn't have any hose clamps around that small...and this is only a temporary set-up. I also put a wrap of electrical tape around the end that fits into the pump for a better seal. Make sure you do the tape before you get it all grease, or your fingers. Then I put the threaded, threads now covered with electrical tape, into the end of the bike pump and closed the lever.
Here's a closeup of that.
If any of you are wondering if this really holds air you could do what I did.
Fill up the sink and drop the hose/cone adapter/bike pump nozzle into the sink. Shake the bubbles off and put you thumb over the end of the screw-in part of the lube pump. You can easily hold 15-20 pounds with your thumb and if you have leaks you will see bubbles.
Then I just screwed the end into the lower unit, either hole, and pumped it up to 10 lbs. Left it for 30 minutes and luckily I didn't have any leaks.
Here's a pic of the whole set up.
Now for the vacuum source.
After that I went to the auto parts store that rhymes with auto cone and they have a free loan-a-tool program. You basically buy the used tool and then return it when your done. I use it all the time. They don't care how long you keep it and no daily fees. Great when working on the car too. I got the vacuum pump from them ($55) Then you just take the cone adapter out of the bike pump, leave it in the lube pump hose, and put the vacuum pump hose on it. I used another zip tie for that too. Pump it up to about 10 psi vacuum and leave it for 30 minutes.
Here's a pic of that too.
Then I took it all apart and took the vacuum pump back. Got my $55 bucks back and I'm right back where I started, money wise anyway.
I have now pressure and vacuum tested my lower unit and it didn't cost anything.
Mine passed by the way.
Even if you don't have all that stuff I bet you can figure a way to make it work for you.
thanks for all the great info I have gotten on here over the years
I think this is my first post...hope it helps somebody.