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| G-AMG G-Class DIY Host Date registered: May 2006 Location: South Texas Vehicle(s): '04 G55, '80 280GE, '99 S420, '98 E320, 2011 E350  | Photo DIY- Coolant Cap Testing After hearing that Hipine's newly-overhauled engine Overheat situation "could" have been related to something as simple as a Faulty Coolant Cap.... it made me look at my Cap Testing program in a different light. During my Bi-Annual Coolant Service (please don't make this a "over-maintaining" Bashing thread :-) ), I routinely perform Coolant System Pressure Testing, Cylinder Head Leak Testing, as well as Cap Testing. Before hearing Hipine's story, I guess I thought the Cap Testing was little more than mental masturbation. Now I know it is a crutial step, and will no longer take it lightly. Anyway, here's the "Official" Procedure and Tools. I'm sure those of you who are smarter/more creative than I am, you could easily piece together a testing set using a cheap Mityvac tester and a few odds and ends. The Key to testing is determining the CAP CODE. Most "Modern" Coolant systems are using the "2-Stage" Thread-On Cap. Please note, there are TWO different kinds of the "Bayonet"-Style Caps. In this post, it is the OLD "100" code, which translates as a 1,0 Barr Release Pressure. The "Newer" Bayonet types have a 140 Code (1,4 barr release). In all caps, the "Vacuum" value is the same at 0,1 Barr/100 mBar. (Whooops!! I just saw a type-O on Last pic... should be 0.1Bar, not "1" ) On the Old Klunkerwagen 280GE, I included the "Old-School" Testing method, as well as the "New" Quick-Connect system. Edited by G-AMG 5/3/2013 9:55 PM (1.jpg) (2.jpg) (3.jpg) (4.jpg) (5.jpg) (6.jpg) (7.jpg) (8.jpg) (9.jpg) (10.jpg) (11.jpg) Attachments ----------------  1.jpg (100KB - 0 downloads) 2.jpg (142KB - 1 downloads) 3.jpg (88KB - 0 downloads) 4.jpg (88KB - 0 downloads) 5.jpg (96KB - 0 downloads) 6.jpg (95KB - 0 downloads) 7.jpg (88KB - 0 downloads) 8.jpg (87KB - 0 downloads) 9.jpg (82KB - 0 downloads) 10.jpg (94KB - 0 downloads) 11.jpg (105KB - 1 downloads) | |
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| AlanMcR Expert Date registered: Apr 2006 Location: US, CA, Los Altos Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL Posts: 3500  | ||
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| Loki Laufeyjarson Date registered: Apr 2006 Location: 66°N, 19°W Vehicle(s):  | Re: Photo DIY- Coolant Cap Testing -or just spend $10 on a new cap..... every X years or Y Km  | |
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| G-AMG G-Class DIY Host Date registered: May 2006 Location: South Texas Vehicle(s): '04 G55, '80 280GE, '99 S420, '98 E320, 2011 E350 | ||
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| AlanMcR Expert Date registered: Apr 2006 Location: US, CA, Los Altos Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL Posts: 3500 | ||
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| marbendill Member Date registered: Nov 2010 Location: Kópavogur, Iceland Vehicle(s): 290 GDT (280GE) 1985 Posts: 35  | ||
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hipine Date registered: Jul 2006 Location: US, CO, Bailey Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A  | Re: Photo DIY- Coolant Cap Testing G-AMG - 5/5/2013 9:11 PM Loki, point well taken. This certainly is an option for ANY Inspection/Testing procedure. The point is, if it Passes testing/inspection, WHY relpace? Such a philosophy could be never-ending. When you inspect a V-Belt, and it is in good shape, does one replace it anyway? A fuel pump is tested, and is within normal limits, does this warrant replacement? "if it ain't busted... Why replace it??" Just my .02 I'm somewhat conflicted over this as well. For me the decision comes down to a few things. 1- what is the severity of the failure mode? 2- can I detect degradation in time to still prevent catastrophic failure? 3- how cheap/easy is it to replace profilactically vs test to max life? Something like fuel pump that will strand you when it fials without detectable warning = profilactic replacement. Something like a V-belt that will show it wants replacing before it strands you = run it to your chosen wear limit, but choose wisely! Patrick, I know that by "if it ain't busted" you mean, "if it's still functioning as new or within wear limits" and I agree with your philosophy. I hate the idea of filling up landfills and using resources to make new stuff to replace old stuff that's not bad. So if there's not a lot of risk of catastrophic failure, and I can spot the degradation in time to prevent it, I like the idea of getting the life I can out of a part. Heck, it's a good piece of why I drive an old G instead of let the car companies build me a new one all the time. For what it's worth, when I put the new cap on the baby G, I did a definite double take. "Where is that old cap? Was it anywhere NEAR this tight?" The answer was a resounding NO, the old cap was probably the original one from the truck when it was new and the spring was totally shot. Alan, Thanks for bringing up the bit about the reverse flow portion being bad. This might be what's causing my Astro van to lose coolant to evaporation on a sporadic basis. That cap is 10 years old. Need to replace it too! PS - Pat, does "measure horizontally" mean the vac gauge setup should be lying on it's back (handles up) when you use it? Nifty piece of kit that. I use an old military dentist's rig.  Great info everyone! Thanks for sharing. -Dave G. Edited by hipine 5/6/2013 11:52 AM | |
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| G-AMG G-Class DIY Host Date registered: May 2006 Location: South Texas Vehicle(s): '04 G55, '80 280GE, '99 S420, '98 E320, 2011 E350 | ||
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