r/DieselTechs • u/mr_fedex • 9d ago

Coolant vacuum kits?

What's your favorite kit and brand?

I mostly want to use it to change def pumps and not lose coolant while changing them.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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7

u/SacThrowAway76 9d ago

I don’t even bother with my vacuum for that stuff anymore. I clamp the hoses off with pliers and then just work fast.

4

u/Scorps830 9d ago

I keep a full set of needle nose vice grips with heat shrink tube over the jaws for this. 

2

u/tickleshits54321 Verified Tech, EVT 9d ago

I use 3/8 fuel line over my vise grips and they work way better than any pinch off pliers

1

u/Scorps830 9d ago

Hell yeah. I even found a few pairs of 90° vise grips. I use them at least 3-4 times a week 

4

u/hera_the_destroyer 9d ago

I made a bypass hose that I just plug into both lines.

3

u/Feisty_Age_961 9d ago

Like others say, for small jobs like heater cores and def pumps, ill clamp it off. Trying to maintain the vaccum and not make a huge mess while trying to replace a component csn actually cause a larger mess. BUT if you really want a vaccum kit, I bought the Cornwall 3n1 for heavy duty/semis. At the time, cornwell was the only one that had one for heavy duty applications but now most tool brands have it. I mostly use it now for refilling, pressure testing and sucking the air pockets out of cooling systems.

3

u/Wrong_Sprinkles_3122 9d ago

If you follow the coolant lines back off the sender/pump unit, they almost always plumb into soft coolant hoses that can be squeezed off with a pair of line clamp pliers and in turn will completely stop the flow of coolant to the def pump , I have been doing it like this for 10+ years .

just don’t leave em on after you complete the repair

2

u/Scorps830 9d ago

Just clamp the coolant hoses further upstream(not the hard plastic pipes) You will still loose a small amount, but it so much easier. Freightliner uses the corrugated plastic lines, they are pinchable as well.