doing leak down test

[chevy art]

my friends 383 sbc has a bad cykinder,. pistons have been hurt 3 times before in same cylinders(300 shot of juice) and cylinders never really checked for trueness and the pistons were just replaces with new one. no new balance .no nothing. now 1 cylinder is bad again(didnt even use the juice on this rebuild) and he is going to do a leakdown test(his version on a leakdown) by just putting air in and listen by oil pan and through open carb butterflies. i would think that a real leakdown test would be with a leakdown gauge. would not this way of testing tell more precisely where the problem lies, thanks for your advice and replies art

[MadBill]

It won't tell him much vs. a proper tester, but if he compares the sound and location of the leak with that of one or more other cylinders he could get a rough idea of how bad it is.

[chevy art]

thanks for reply mad bill. i just think a leaskdowen guage should be used(on all cylinders ). we know 1 cylinder is hurt but the others could be too. remember, this motor blew pistons 2 or maybe 3 times and nothing was really checked( especially valves in hurt cylinders). he will definitely be taking the motor apart and before this, he should do a leakdown on all cylinders just to see if there are any damage or wear that he is not aware of. art