CTA Manufacturing
SKU:
CTA-6520
Pneumatic Vacuum Coolant Fill Tool - CTA Manufacturing 6520
Allows for easy cooling system testing and filling, prevents air locks from occurring
Price each:
$118.69
Core charges are assigned to parts that have reusable components by manufacturers to encourage the return of the used units. Once you return the old part you will be refunded for your core charge, details regarding the return will be emailed to you once you place the order.
Note: The customer is responsible for the cost of return shipping.
QTY
Make sure this fits your car
This is a universal product.
Some parts may require modification depending on application.
Description
Details
- SKU:
- CTA-6520
- FCP Euro ID:
- 596548
- GTIN / UPC:
- 00053001065202
- Made in:
- Taiwan
- Quality:
- Aftermarket
OE Numbers
- 6520
MFG Numbers
- 6520
Product Information
Pneumatic tool designed to fill cooling systems from the bottom up under a vacuum, filling the entire system quickly and without the need for additional bleeding processes. Required for filling many newer cooling systems.
Connects to an air hose and can be fed off even a basic pancake compressor.
Comes with a variety of attachments for use with all cooling systems. Also comes with 2 different pneumatic hose fittings to fit a wide variety of air compressor systems.
Instructions for use:
- Determine the most appropriate vacuum cone and fit it to the bottom of the tool. It should fit the top of the coolant reservoir snug. Keep in mind some coolant reservoirs have a recessed overflow drain hole, so the fitting must seal below or vacuum will not build.
- Insert pickup tube into container of pre-mixed coolant, this will work best if the container is at the same level as the tool/reservoir. Keep the fill tube valve closed.
- Connect an air hose capable of around 90psi and open the air valve. If you have a good seal, vacuum will build in the system and the radiator hoses will begin to collapse within a few moments.
- Close the air hose valve, stopping the flow of air and make sure the system is steady in holding static vacuum.
- Open the coolant fill tube valve and observe the system filling. The coolant will continue to fill until it is at the proper fill level. Additional vacuum will not need to be applied.
About CTA Manufacturing
CTA Manufacturing Corp. started in 1978 with a few specialty tools and a lot of great ideas. After spending over 25 years setting up worldwide distribution for the biggest names in the business, the founders of CTA decided to take some of their own ideas to market. Originally named "Classic American Tools", the company expanded from manufacturing about 20 Specialty Tools to over 1000 tools under the CTA name today. Factories are located worldwide, manufacturing Specialty Tools to meet the demands of today’s technicians.
Product Reviews
7 Reviews
4.1
Average rating
Pros:
Decent build quality. Builds vacuum readily with even a small compressor. Only reasons for the two stars.
Cons:
The gauge scales are in Bar and in. Hg. The instructions give values in mm Hg and kPa. You shouldn't need to do conversion math just to use this thing.
The box it come in is a generic rectangular plastic box. After you screw in your chosen air chuck nipple, the instrument no longer fits in the box without forcing it.
Thanks to the vented design of a P3 Volvo's coolant reservoir, the generic tapered rubber fittings aren't able to make an effective seal. The thing completely fails to pull any vacuum. I even cut apart one of the rubber cone adapters to try and get it to seal against the inner bore of the reservoir fill hole, to no avail.
This thing grossly overpriced for what it is. For just $14 more, I got a Mishimoto MMTL-CPT-28 kit from Amazon, which has the correct adapter to work with my XC70's coolant reservoir. The quality and utility of the Mishimoto kit compared to this CTA universal tool is in another league altogether.
I wish I could return this useless, overpriced tool, but having mangled one of the pieces, I don't expect FCP to be willing to take it back. Really guys, given the number of Volvo owners you cater to, it's a real disappointment that you didn't flag this thing as not compatible with P3 Volvos.
Recommend this tool, worked great - helped with a full vacuum test and fill, used it on my E46 330xi after my complete cooling system overhaul.
I have a 2018 Volvo xc60 and have tried all the adapters. It does not work on my car. Quality seems nice. Too late for me to return now.
First, I will never change coolant again by using the old fill and burp again. Pneumatic vacuum filling is awesome. In a tight system, I think you could vacuum and fill in less than 10 minutes. That being said, this tool could be better. It did help me identifying a bad o-ring on the upper radiator hose (very slight sucking sound under vacuum) and a connector on the expansion tank that looked good but wasn’t completely seated. The bad news is the valve to the fill tube that goes to the coolant jug doesn’t seal completely. My vacuum pressure would slowly bleed away, but I decided to try to fill the system anyway. Once I purged the air out of the fill tube, I pulled another vacuum on the system and noticed that air was being forced into the tube. A small pocket of air formed at the top of the fill tube and began to grow, pushing the coolant back into the jug. I ended up putting pair of vice grips on the fill tube to complete close it off and I was able to hold vacuum then. So, the process is awesome but the tool could be better.
I received this as a gift for Christmas. I replaced my E46 330Xi's thermostat yesterday & bled the system using it today with absolute ease. Highly recommend!
This item works as advertised. I couldn't ask for an easier way to fill the cooling system.
Worked like a charm on my V60 once I figured it out, the instructions in the product description were very helpful. Really beats the old way of bleeding and squeezing hoses, then getting a bubble in the heater core, then finding a clean pan and starting over which is how it usually worked for me. The hoses collapse, you close one valve and open the other, and the system fills up in about a minute then totally done. great, even came with the pnumatic fitting I needed which was a huge bonus to have have to hunt down.
Questions & Answers
Ask a question
Question
Posted by a customer
Will this work for filling the Land Rover LR3 cooling system?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
Yes.
Question
Posted by Ken
How do you use it for just testing?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
The main purpose of this tool is to fill the system without having to bleed it afterward.
Question
Posted by jeff
will this unit fit/work with my 2021 GLE 450 coolant reservoir ?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
This is a universal tool, so it should work just fine.
Question
Posted by Austin
Is this the same product that was use to refill the coolant system in your b8 turbocharger replacement video?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
Yes, that's correct.
Question
Posted by a customer
Would this work with the expansion tank(coolant ball) on a mk4 Volkswagen Jetta?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
Yes this contains multiple adapters, we haven't come across a vehicle this didn't work on yet.
Question
Posted by Vincent
Would this tool work with a 3-gallon 110 psi pancake compressor?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
Yes, that should be able to work with this tool.
Question
Posted by Usein
This doesn't work on my 2003 Mini Cooper S - vacuum doesn't build up (stays at 0 permanently). Blocking expansion tank overflow passage doesn't help either. Is there a video instruction of any sort for this thing?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
If a vacuum cannot be pulled on the system there are two primary causes.: 1) There is a major leak/opening somewhere in the system. 2) There is not an adequate seal at the expansion tank via the rubber adapter.
Question
Posted by Andrew
When I put air to the tool and it builds vacuum, the air comes out the side hole when I turn the supply air off and I lose my vacuum in the system. If I put my finger over the side hole the vacuum stays in the system. is my tool faulty or am I doing something wrong?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
You need to manually close the valve on the tool. The valve needs to be open when shop air is supplied in order for the flow of air to pull a vacuum. Once vacuum has been pulled the valve on the tool needs to be close to retain the vacuum that has been generated on the cooling system.
Question
Posted by Jon
Does this part come with instructions?
Answer
(Posted by FCP Euro Products Team)
It does not, however instructions are included in the listing description.
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