Vacuum Fill
Has anyone had issues damaging cooling system components with a vacuum fill tool??? I just got the cooling system vacuum fill tool a month ago and thought it was the best invention ever. Until I started breaking things. First issue, a week ago, was with a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I ended up sucking petcock drain seal out of the radiator. Yesterday it sucked a radiator tank seal out of a 08 Ford F350 6.4L. Now this one is going to cost me some bucks to repair! The instructions in the vacuum tool states to draw a vacuum to 22" of mercury. Is this too much??? Should I just draw it down to 12-15" of mercury, or throw this thing away. The ford radiator has me pretty upset, several hundred dollar bath on that deal. Anyone's opinion on this?
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I never heard of a petcock seal getting pulled out, but radiator failures on 6.4s are nearly as common as oil changes. Don't blame yourself for that one. One day Ford will make a good radiator for a diesel. Maybe at about the same time they make another good diesel.
Joe"You don't build a reputation on what you're going to do"
Henry Ford -
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I think what Joe is trying to say (and I agree) is what the tool is breaking is what will eventually be breaking soon anyway. Better for it to break now in the shop where it can be fixed rather than at an unpredictable time when the customer might be in a life or death situation and really need to depend on the vehicle (hospital trip, etc.). Best strategy would be to discuss all these and other possibilities and consequences with the customers BEFORE anything is done and let them decide. I have used my vacuum fill coolant devices quite successfully at the maximum vacuum they will generate - which is exactly what you want to fill the system as complete as possible. Inadequate vacuum will not fill your system properly and not being able to generate full vacuum or maintain it usually indicates you have a problem already somewhere.You can expect the reputation of your business to be no better than the cheapest item or service you are willing to sell. - WheelComment
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What's wrong with just taking the extra time and not potentially opening up a can of worms with a customer and just take the extra time it takes to unscrew the ect , bleeder screws ,or take the upper hose off the radiatior , and a heater hose off the heater control valve and fill everything up right solid the first time? I see Morons all the time with vacuum pumps and large yellow funnels attached to a radiator neck adapters running cars till the T-stat's open , then adding cold coolant and using other Gimmick tools to save a little extra time that I think you''ll eventually F something up sooner or later. Cooling system components weren't generally engineered to deal with large amounts of vacuum. Do manufacturers need to put more warning disclaimer labels in the engine compartments then they already have?
To Save 10 minutes doing a Coolant Exchange You took a Gamble and lost.
If it is the shop's coolant exchange machine and you are told ,this is how you do things ,then the shop eats the repairs, not you , who is just following the instructions, and shop should pay for your time to change the radiator.
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I use the same vac tool almost everyday, you are doing it right. sounds like you just found 2 problems before they happened later and caused more issues.
I have had the exact same thing happen on a 6.4 diesel. when that happened I called the customer and explained to them that it was going to blow that seal anyway and the vac tool just made it happen now. they understood and had me replace the radiator. joe is right the 6.4 radiator has had issues since it came out. word of advice use a mishimoto radiator and only a mishimoto radiator.
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Well, you guys made me feel better anyways. I think I'm going to be gun-shy about using the vacuum fill tool in the future, but I won't take my air hammer to it like I first wanted to.Comment
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