DIY leak down tester

[turtle13]

im sure 3 has seen where i ripped this idea off from over on scooter invasion as there are a few guys on there building their own testers, and i didnt want to pay for a leak down "kit" so i built my own.
what is the easiest way to find leaks, pressurize the engine, of course.
so i set out to build a leak down tester with out spending an excess of cash doing so.
please excuse my lack of step by step pictures in this as i built it before i realized that i should share as to spread the wealth of not blowing up engines due to an unknowing lean condition.

step one:
buy:
1. a cheep blood pressure monitor from walgreens.
this is for mainly the squeeze bulb/twist valve.
2. a tire pressure gauge
3. 3x 3/16 (or what ever size your tubing is) to 1/4 MIP adapters
4. 1 1/4 3 way pipe adapter
5. JB weld
6. 1/4 to 1/8 MIP pipe adapter

step two:
cut off the arm cuff off the blood pressure monitor

step three:
fab an intake adapter
i used a completely useless carb and cut the mount off of it, then JB welded one of the 3/16ths barb adapters into the flange. (polini sells a flange on its own, i just happened to have a completely F&*ked carb handy)
if you are using a CT intake you can still follow the same idea, you just need to make it mount onto the rubber adapter

step four:
take the valve stem adapter off the dial tire pressure gauge

step five:
put it all together...
screw the tire gauge into the adapter, then into the t-fitting. then connect the barb adapters to the other two sides of the t-fitting. dont forget to use teflon tape to make sure its leak free. then hook up the tubing between all the rest of your pieces and...
Viola'!

ok so the idea, for those that dont know, is that you plug the exhaust, and then hook up the tester to the intake. and pump up the pressure!
if it can sit and not have the pressure drop, then you are good. if it sits and the pressure drops... well then you have a leak. then its time to pump up the pressure and squirt some soapy water around the gaskets and possible leak points and look for bubbles. tada! leak found.

[mousewheels]

Thanks Turtle
I will add this to what we have on crankcase seal testing. One thing followers may find in second hand stores are used 'sphygmomanometers' - manual blood pressure measurement equipment. Trusted nurses use them over electronic BP measurement devices, and if you score one, it will have both the hand pump and a gauge calibrated in mmHg (mm Mercury). You can pretty easily convert mmHg to PSI if an exact PSI number is desired, and the whole setup is good even with out arithmetic to look for a falling reading signaling a leak.

One thing for perfectionists out there is the seals need to be working for pressure and vacuum. I previously posted some pressure only testing info, and the folks here mentioned a full test involves leakage testing with the pressure positive and negative.

[GSX1400]

One thing for perfectionists out there is the seals need to be working for pressure and vacuum. I previously posted some pressure only testing info, and the folks here mentioned a full test involves leakage testing with the pressure positive and negative.

In that case, you can use a Mityvac pump :
http://www.mityvac.com/pages/products_hvpo.asp#

I have this one :
http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/mit4050.html