Looking for Coolant Pressure, Retention, Vacuum Filler Tool

[dragonle87]

Hey there. I'm trying to find an all in one coolant pressure, retention, & vacuum filler. I found one from Cornwell however there's no Cornwell dealer in my area or nearby area. Cornwell Coolant Tool
I'm wondering if there are other brands out there since Cornwell doesn't sell them online.

 

[Mark_17]

Harbor freight sells one that gets high marks

 

[Zewnten]

You can DIY one pretty easy, just need a small venturi and some plumbing fittings

 

[m3bs]

I've been using this one for several years now. Surprisingly well made for the money.

Schwaben Coolant Vacuum Fill Tool

Refill your cooling system quickly and easily while avoiding airlock issues. Will work with fluid extractor or shop air hose

www.ecstuning.com

 

[Fedwrench]

Uview Airlift™ Kit & Cooling System Replacement Parts (550000)

Simplify cooling system refilling and leak detection with Uview Airlift™ Kit. Works on cars, trucks, and off-road vehicles. Shop now at JB Tools!

www.jbtools.com

I think Uview's airlift was the original version long since copied. I don't use mine as much as I used to but, it served me well.

You may want to look at Snap on's version too.

 

[theoldwizard1]

IMHO, unless you are in a hurry, you don't need a vacuum lift system. A Lisle 24680 Spill Free Funnel will do the job if you give it time.

 

[dscheidt]

IMHO, unless you are in a hurry, you don't need a vacuum lift system. A Lisle 24680 Spill Free Funnel will do the job if you give it time.

there are engines you cannot reliably fill without using a vacuum.

 

[mikegt4]

there are engines you cannot reliably fill without using a vacuum.

Mid engine cars in particular, they often have spots in the system where air becomes trapped. Usually there are some air bleed valves but they don't always burp all the air.

 

[mrjaw14]

I use an Air Lift like the one mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

[dscheidt]

Mid engine cars in particular, they often have spots in the system where air becomes trapped. Usually there are some air bleed valves but they don't always burp all the air.

the passat I used to have had a heater core that was higher than its fill or return tubes. If the system was not vacuum filled, the heater was full of air that would never get removed.

I'm pretty sure at least one of the heavy duty diesel engine makers requires it, too, and I know others highly recommend it.

 

[toyotadriver]

Not sure if it will do everything you want but I have the Harbor Freight tool for filling cooling systems and it works great. I used it not long ago to fill my Rzr 800 which is notorious for being hard to get the air out of the cooling system. It worked perfect.

 

[plinker]

I've got a Matco unit, works well for refilling. Not sure who the OEM is.
https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/MCR103U/COOLING-SYSTEM-FILLER-FOR-USE-WITHOUT-ADAPTERS/

I have the Lisle "spill free" funnel, Not sure why they call it spill free, because that part doesnt work very well for me. I usually spend more time trying to get it adapted to whatever radiator then using the coolant vacuum filler to fill the unit.

 

[theoldwizard1]

the passat I used to have had a heater core that was higher than its fill or return tubes. If the system was not vacuum filled, the heater was full of air that would never get removed.

The Lisle funnel RAISES the fill level several inches above the radiator and likey, that heater core. This results in above ambient air pressure on the coolant in the funnel.

 

[dscheidt]

The Lisle funnel RAISES the fill level several inches above the radiator and likey, that heater core. This results in above ambient air pressure on the coolant in the funnel.

Doesn't solve the problem. There's a tank space above the connections which traps air. If pressure were enough to remove the air, it would come out the first time the heat got used, as the operating pressure is 15 psi, which is 33 feet of water. That's enough for most places air gets trapped, in most engines. But not everywhere, and not always. The diesel people are very worried about hot spots before the air is removed.

I would not take my vehicle to a shop that didn't use something like the airlift. It does a vastly superior job, faster, and more reliably. And it's not even that expensive; the clones are down right cheap for the time they save.

 

[Zewnten]

A lot of heavy equipment requires use of an air lift. International engines require it for their EGR cooler or you'll burn it up.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Doesn't solve the problem. There's a tank space above the connections which traps air. If pressure were enough to remove the air, it would come out the first time the heat got used, as the operating pressure is 15 psi, which is 33 feet of water. That's enough for most places air gets trapped, in most engines. But not everywhere, and not always. The diesel people are very worried about hot spots before the air is removed.

I would not take my vehicle to a shop that didn't use something like the airlift. It does a vastly superior job, faster, and more reliably. And it's not even that expensive; the clones are down right cheap for the time they save.

Bingo.

The only time I use a spill-free funnel is for shitboxes I don't believe will survive a vacuum event. There are 100% vehicles which cannot be reliably filled with the funnel method. And when that car has a blown headgasket, because the customer drove it until it stopped, you will be fixing it for zero pay. What's going to happen when these car which can't be reliably filled enter shitbox status? It's already happening, and is a major PITA. Crimped hoses, plastic cooling system parts with 200k worth of heat cycles on them..... I just need to get it filled up to make a week before they fail, and it's not my problem. On some junk you're stuck manually burping them 5 times trying to purge the air at 3,000rpm to limp them out of the bay.

None of that even gets into the fact that a spill free funnel takes what, 15min minimum? And a vacuum tool take 5 min tops? Maybe 7min if you 100% drained it and want to vac it down twice? Hell it takes longer to fill my 5gallon bucket with coolant and clean up/wipe down the tool than actually fill the system.




To the OP - I use the astro pneumatic kit fill and pressure tester kit. If you do a lot of mid-engine work, this may not be the tool for you. It struggled, I assume due to venturi size, on a porsche cayman with an essentially 100% empty front system. I removed the air bleed fittings on each front radiator, gravity bleed them, and then the tool worked well.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

550500HD Airlift™ II: HD

OP - I beleive this is similar to what cornwell is offering.

 

[vssjim]

Astro Tools has a good set that is fairly complete

 

[blairjw]

Astro Tools has a good set that is fairly complete

I will +1 on the Astro Kit Link Here It comes with a ton of adapters, with the exception of the Ford Super Duty trucks, which I own 2 of... so you have to buy that adapter separately.

Blair

 

[m3bs]

The vacuum rig also serves as an effective leak check prior to filling.

 

[RedneckWelder]

A lot of heavy equipment requires use of an air lift. International engines require it for their EGR cooler or you'll burn it up.

cat does too on EGR cooler engines For same reason. It’s a hell of a lot faster to fill with the vacuum filler tool also And no concerns about an air pocket.

 

[MJK]

Anybody use the OEM Tools version of this? Looks a lot like the Schwaben....

 

[corn chip]

Uview Airlift™ Kit & Cooling System Replacement Parts (550000)

Simplify cooling system refilling and leak detection with Uview Airlift™ Kit. Works on cars, trucks, and off-road vehicles. Shop now at JB Tools!

www.jbtools.com

I think Uview's airlift was the original version long since copied. I don't use mine as much as I used to but, it served me well.

You may want to look at Snap on's version too.

thats the one i have. its not all that expensive either

 

[WWheeler]

FWIW after numerous tries to get the air out that kept getting trapped and lifting the front and using the HF funnel kit didn't work so I bought this set of Amazon a little over a year ago. Used it twice on 2 different vehicles and worked great for me so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BG3WTDX/?tag=atomicindus08-20

lol, the price sure has gone up in the past year though. $137 now I paid $80 then.

 

[KomatsuTech]

A lot of heavy equipment requires use of an air lift. International engines require it for their EGR cooler or you'll burn it up.

Cummins and Komatsu engines require it too.

 

[KomatsuTech]

thats the one i have. its not all that expensive either

I have the same one. Worth every penny for a little over $100

 

[Spitfiremk16]

Mid engine cars in particular, they often have spots in the system where air becomes trapped. Usually there are some air bleed valves but they don't always burp all the air.

I own a Toyota MR2 Spyder and when it came time to drain and fill the coolant I could not for the life of me get the air to burp out of the cooling system using a lisle spill free funnel. Tried jacking both front and rear of the car up as well as using the cars two bleeder valves and it would still start to overheat after 20 mins of idling and would not produce any heat out of the vents. I bought a uview airlift and vacuum filled the cooling system. Still had to use the car’s air bleeders even after vacuum filling but no more overheating and good heat coming out of vents. I would strongly recommend the uview airlift if you are going to use a vacum bleeder a lot as mine has worked flawlessly and is very sturdy and well made. This tool is a must for filling the cooling system on mid engine cars.

 

[decableguy2000]

I have the Matco and Astro, The Matco is great for filling. I got the Astro set to be able to pressure test as well. Have tried to fill with Astro yet. They both have done what I needed, but the Matco will more than likely go down the road to recoup some storage space.

 

[71firebird400]

My UView has served me well. Very nice for diesel trucks. Letting them sit there, idling, until the t-stat cracks open takes forever.

 

[corn chip]

I have the same one. Worth every penny for a little over $100

ive only used mine once so far but already its priceless. if you go on most any automotive forum youll see people begging for help as they tried changed the coolant without a vacuum tool ,only to spend many hours and days unsuccesfully attempting to get the air out

 

[Neggy]

unfortunately, a radiator fill kit that creates a vacuum then ***** the coolant in and thru the system is as essential as a screwdriver when working on newer cars.

And even on cars that don't require them, they are still going to make you more productive vs trying to burp all the air out over the course of an hour.... I had 2 Ford Escapes of 2008 vintage that took forever to get heat out of after refilling the cooling system

 

[MJK]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I ordered one. I have have diesel trucks and midengined cars for many years. Cheers.