Review on Lisle 75500 Combustion Leak Detector by Roman Starr

Can not recommend this product, but they are all similar. You add test fluid and then run a vacuum on the cooling system to remove gases and see if you have a clog or leak in your head. Simple in theory but there is a trackball in the bottom cone and on mine it won't land 25% of the time. I used a manual vacuum pump, and when a vacuum was not drawn, the test fluid occasionally entered the radiator due to a bad control ball. After 2 minutes I ran out of test liquid. The reason for this is that there is a retainer in the metal case that the recoil ball sits in that is not properly shaped. For me, the stopper actually kept the ball in the open position. There are many Revain reviews that mention this issue, and one reviewer even contacted Lyle about it. So the manufacturer is aware of the problem, but hasn't fixed it. It's also a shame because it's a product made in the USA. I used it on a 2002 Civic that has a small radiator opening. The tool is not suitable for this hole. When I first tried it, the test liquid stayed blue, so I figured it was fine. My coolant continued to flow into the expansion tank so I checked again. This time with Lisle heatsink adapter. I could see where the tool sealed the funnel adapter since it sits a few inches above the radiator lip. And this time my test liquid turned yellow. So I ended up with a bad product that didn't really work for my application. This is supposed to be the final test, but it's clear that's not the case. I like Lisle and hope he gets his quality control. There is no reason to sell a faulty product if the problem has been repeatedly brought to your attention.