I managed to pick up a $40 leak-down compression tester from Harbor Freight that seems to be worthless. I'm pretty sure the plugs in this '99 4.6L v8 have a 14mm threading on them, but I just can't get the 14mm adapter that came with this stupid thing to thread.

I really wanted to get a leakage baseline test on this thing before I rebuilt it ... so I can at least feel like I made some progress.

Can anybody recommend a tester that doesn't break the bank and actually works?

Anybody use the OTC 5609 Cylinder Leakage Tester Kit?

Thanks,
Steve
Kissimmee, FL

 

I looked closer at the threading for the plugs and was a bit surprised at how few threads there actually are to hold the plugs in ... especially considering its aluminum! geesh

Even with the o-ring off the adapter I still couldn't get it in far enough to start to thread. It does seem that the issue is that this adapter is just too short, but I'll be damned if I can find a longer one.

Looking at this threading makes me wish I had retapped these things to M16x1.5.

 

I found an M14 long thread hose on Amazon for $18 that I'm gonna try here in a couple weeks.