A coolant airlift tool is a pneumatic cooling system refill and testing tool that has become a necessity for Ford diesel engine servicing and diagnostics. Using the Venturi effect, it employs compressed air to create a vacuum that is applied directly to a vehicle cooling system. This tool is available from a few different manufacturers and the basic design and use is virtually identical between brands. An internet search for "coolant air lift" will provide many sources from which you can purchase one from. The image on the right is an example of the tool. Make sure that the tool you chose comes with several rubber adapters as the universal cone is not always the best choice on some applications.
An air lock is air trapped in a high point or a pocket in a cooling system. These pockets can restrict coolant flow and create hot spots within an engine by preventing heat transfer from metal to the coolant. Entrapped air can also create pressure variations and surging within a cooling system. The 6.4L Power Stroke engine in Super Duty trucks has shown us some examples of how air entrapment can affect the cooling system. System pressure surging has been identified as the cause of radiator tank seal failures. Overall system pressure variations also are believed to encourage coolant cavitation behind the water pump impeller that causes cavitation erosion of the front engine cover.
To use an airlift to refill a cooling system, assemble the tool and place it on the degas bottle following the instructions that came with the tool. Pre-mix your coolant and fill an appropriately sized container and place the airlift siphon tube into the container with the pick-up screen at the bottom. Verify that the siphon valve is in the closed position. Connect a shop air line to the airlift and begin the process by pressing and holding the air trigger and observe the vacuum gauge. Continue to pull a vacuum until the gage stabilizes reaching a minimum of 20" of vacuum. The radiator hoses may collapse which is normal. Next, turn off the compressed air and open the siphon valve. Coolant will be drawn into the cooling system until completely filled. After removing the airlift tool you may need to adjust the coolant level in the degas bottle. Install the degas bottle and run the engine to full operating temperature and system pressure. Inspect for leaks. Allow the engine to completely cool and adjust the coolant level to the cold fill marks on the degas bottle.
Below: filling a 6.4L Power Stroke cooling system with a coolant airlift tool.
The airlift tool can also be used to test cooling systems for leaks. Ford recommends this procedure for testing EGR cooler integrity before any engine disassembly as it can detect very small leaks or eliminate unnecessary removal or replacement of a good EGR cooler. Similar to the fill procedure the airlift tool is used to apply vacuum to a cooling system with no leaks and the engine cold. The gauge should reach a minimum of 20" vacuum or more and once a maximum vacuum has been reached and has become stable the air trigger should be turned off. At this point the gauge reading should be noted. A good test is when the system vacuum holds steady over 15 minutes. A bad test result is when system vacuum decreases or fails to initially reach a minimum of 20".
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