I was asked by PMM magazine to choose and review a tool from Sealey’s catalogue: the VS8230 borescope.
A borescope is becoming more and more of a must-have tool in today’s modern workshops. Often only used to inspect cylinder bores the cameras are being used for much more fault findings in today’s environment. I reviewed the Sealey VS8230 and first impressions are fantastic, the camera comes in a hard plastic moulded case to ensure it stays damage free when not in use. Packed with accessories such as the 9mm camera probe, camera charger, 45° mirror, hook, magnetic pick-up, AV and USB cable and most importantly a 4GB micro-SD. The camera has a 3.7 V lithium-ion rechargeable battery which takes six hours maximum charge time which in turn gives you up to 4.5 hours of video record time and up to 10,000 images.
The borescope has screen resolution of 320 x 240 pixels which provides a clear crisp picture on the 85mm colour screen. I love the fact that you can adjust the LED brightness on the end of the probe as well as zoom in and out and rotate/flip the images. It feels great when holding and is easy to navigate through its menu when in use. Pictures and videos are saved by one click of a button which is easily transferred to a computer or an external monitor using the RCA cable included. The 9mm probe has a 1m length to it which is great for getting down the back of engines, dashboards, inside door cards and into exhaust systems. The probe itself provides a great viewing angle of 53 degrees.
We will often grab the borescope on a daily basis in our workshop especially when servicing vehicles as it can be difficult to see components such as the bottom of rear coil springs when sat in the rear trailing arms. Not only is it great for us to see but any broken springs we may find the picture is easily transferred to a computer and attached to the vehicle’s health check for the customer to see. Another case was a BMW X5 with a heavy engine oil leak. The leak itself was running down the side of the engine which was impossible to see from the top with the airbox and exhaust system in the way and underneath as engine covers, shields, and components such as the air conditioning compressor in the way. With the Sealey borescope we could easily manoeuvre around these items and quickly establish the cause of the oil leak.
Issues with diesel particulate filters are helped diagnosed with borescopes where on occasions it can be difficult to remove the system a camera can be used through temp sensor holes to assess the condition, looking out for any defects such as cracks of even missing internals.
Sealey has thought of everything when it comes down the VS8230, the 45° mirror is great when inspecting engine cylinder bores, not only can we inspect the top of the piston and the cylinder bores, but we can also attach the mirror to inspect the bottom of the intake and exhaust valves. Capturing a video rather than multiple images is a bonus as we can keep looking back and go over our findings in case we missed something the first time. In the unfortunate case of dropping a bolt and it falls in a tight spot between the engine block and starter motor for example, the camera helps not only find the bolt but when used with the magnetic pick-up it becomes a must for time saving.
In today’s environment where it’s even more important to find and record all your findings the Sealey VS8230 in my opinion is a must for any workshop.
