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Diesel Compression Tester Guide – Buying Guide and Usage

Diesel compression tester applications are very common for diesel engines. If you bring your car to maintenance, they will test your engine with one of these testers. And if there is a problem with a tour car engine, they wi,şl teel you aboıut the situation. Here, you can find detailed information about diesel compression tester systems. If you are looking for one of them, this will be a very comprehensive guide for you.

What is Diesel Compression Tester?

As you know that cylinder compression is very high in diesel engines. And a specific amount of pressure must be established by the engine. Because diesel fuel generally requires much higher pressures for ignition. If your engine cylinders do not have this amount of compression, the engine does not work in an ideal way.

So, mechanics generally check the diesel engines with diesel compression tester applications. These testers provide information about how much pressure we obtain inside the cylinders. And they see if the pressure value inside the cylinders is at the intended levels.

If your engine fails from the diesel compression tests, you probably have these issues with your engine.

  • You will probably have start problems with your engine. Because cylinders are not compression air-fuel mixture up to the intended levels.
  • You will have blue smoke because of the misfire and non-optimized burn of the fuel inside the cylinders.
  • The fuel economy will reduce.
  • The pressure inside the crankcase will be very high.
  • Also, you will feel power loss from your engine while you are driving.

How to Choose the Best Diesel Compression Tester?

In the market, there are different kinds and models of diesel compression tester systems available. If you are looking for one of them, you need to consider these important parameters.

Pressure Range

The pressure range of the diesel compression tester is very important. Which pressure range that they can measure? And which pressure ranges that you will measure in general? These are the important questions that you need to answer according to yourself.

Most of the applications have a pressure range of around 0-1000 psi. And for passenger cars, we generally measure around 300-400 psi values. But if the diesel engine size increases, the total measurement ranges will increase. These are the very important things that we need to consider in general.

Adaptror Sizes

It is also very important that the system is compatible with most of the diieseşl engines. Different engines have different sizes of attachments. And a good set must include all sizes of adaptors in general.

The number of adaptors that you will have will define the sizes of different engines that you can measure. Most of the sets generally have 4-5 different adaptors.

Cost

Also, the cost is a very important factor. You need to find the highest quality with the lowest prices. But low prices do not mean the system is high in quality. You need to consider the different kinds of applications and compare their features.

Warranty

How long the warranty of the diesel compression tester’s warranty? You need to find the best system and brand that have the longest warranty periods. With the increasing warranty periods, the quality also increases.

Best Diesel Compression Tester Kits

Here you can find several and the best diesel compression tester kits available in the market. So, it will b easy to select the best one according to yourself.

DAYUAN 17 pc Diesel Engine Compression Tester Kit

DAYUAN 17 pc Diesel Engine Compression Tester Kit

This is the first kit that we can recommend to you. The sturdy box includes 17 parts that you can use in the compression tests. Th mobile set is usable in different kinds of applications.

  • You can make pressure measurements around 0-1000 psi. You can make measurements for a wide range of diesel engine applications.
  • With 9 different glow plugs and 4 injector adapters, you can use it in different kinds of applications.
  • With the built-in resetter and shortcut, it provides a very good application.
Pros
– Wide range of pressure.
– High quality material.
– Preferably a cheaper application.
Cons
– Made in China. This can be a drawback for some users. Because lots of people are suspicious about the quality of the materials that come from China. But it is a complete prejudice.

OMT Diesel Engine Compression Tester

OMT Diesel Engine Compression Tester

This one is another very common diesel compression tester that you can find in the market. You can use it for ATVs, trucks, cars, motorcycles, and more.

  • It makes very accurate measurements in both psi and bars.
  • The material is durable and shock resistant. And you can use it in a harsh environment in general.
  • Most of the systems are portable in general.
  • Comes in a durable and sturdy package.
Pros
– Accurate reading in both bars and psi.
– Sturdy casing.
– Different sizes of glow plugs and injector adapters.
Cons
– Only used in diesel engines.

OTC 5021 Universal Diesel Engine Compression Gauge

OTC 5021 Universal Diesel Engine Compression Gauge

If you are looking for a very high-quality diesel engine compression tester, you can consider this one. The material is a premium material that is compatible with nearly all diesel engines.

  • You can measure pressure up to 1000 psi which makes it useful for different kinds of diesel engine applications.
  • The features include the check valve, push button reşease and quick connect and disconnect.
  • 45 degrees hose connections make it very useful in such applications.
Pros
– Very high-quality material. Premium class.
Cons
– Higher in price.

How to Use Diesel Engine Compression Tester?

Also, it is very important to use a diesel engine tester properly. Once you bought one of these systems, you need to be able to use them correctly. Follow these steps.

  • First of all, you need to disable the fuel injection at the engine cylinder that you want to make the compression test.
  • You need to remove the glow plugs that you want to make test.
  • Choose the correct size of the adapter from the set. There are different sizes of adapters available for different sizes of connections.
  • Attach the test gauge to the adapter that you will use in the diesel engine.
  • You need to disable the ignition also. You can do it from the distributor or battery.
  • Make the remote switch and activate the starter directly.
  • And then start the engine for 4-5 revolutions.
  • And you will need the engine cylinder pressure to take place. You can read from the gauge.
  • You need to apply it for each cylinder to compare the pressure values.

In general, you need to read around 350-450 psi total compressions that change according to the engine to engine type.

Last Words

These are the general things that we can state about diesel engine compression testers. With this guide, you learn all the important aspects of them. It will be very easy for you to read the compression pressures.

If you gave additional comments and questions about these systems, please leave them below.

Related;

FAQ

Can you use a compression tester on a diesel engine?

People are curious about if they can use the gasoline compression tester on diesel engines. Simpel you can not. There are special compression testers that are produced for diesel engines. You need to use these applications.

What is a good compression test reading for a diesel engine?

A diesel engine compression must be between 300-500 psi values. And if we think about the special and different engines, you can consider them also.

How does a diesel compression tester work?

They are very simple systems that you attach to the sections of the injectors. And they measure the compression in each cycle of the engine cylinder.

Hasan AYTAÇ

Hello, I am Hasan, I am one of the owners of the Fmechanic. We built this website with one of my best friends to share our knowledge and experience in the engineering and mechanic areas. I am a certified mechanist and I have 4 years of experience with power and manufacturing tools. Writing about these topics and contacting people around these topics is a great joy for me.

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