Tool Review: Spill-Free Funnel

The Napa Spill-free Funnel. The radiator burping master.

The Napa Spill-free Funnel. The radiator burping master.

Got bubbles in your coolant system? You need this. This awesomely-huge funnel is designed to help you burp your radiator without fluid overflowing everywhere. One post on MiataTurbo mentioned this tool and showed a photo. I yelled “THAT’S IT!” and ran out to my local Napa to acquire one of my own.

The part number is 77-4000. It rang up for $20 when I bought it in March of 2011. There was a thick coating of dust on the top of the box indicating that they probably don’t sell too many of these. Not sure why. This is the best radiator funnel I’ve ever seen.

Amazon also sells a version of this. They have the Lisle 24610 Spill-Free Funnel listed on their site. Do a search. At the time of this posting, it was $23 and change.

How it works…

Spill-free insert and radiator "cap."

Spill-free insert and radiator "cap."

You first match up the various inserts and caps to your radiator. My Koyo rad (Mazda Miata) took the B-sized insert and cap.

The insert in the filler neck.

The insert in the filler neck.

When the rad is cold, this is a TIGHT fit. If you try to remove the little neck from a cold radiator, you might need to use pliers. If you wait till the system is warm to remove the little yellow insert, you’ll have no problems.

Then screw on the cap.

Then screw on the cap.

Mine isn’t a perfect fit, but it snugs the little yellow insert down nice and tight. I’d suggest not trying to tighten the cap all the way. It might just come unthreaded, and it doesn’t need to be that tight anyway.

Finally, with the HUGE funnel in place.

Finally, with the HUGE funnel in place.

Yes, the funnel reservoir is indeed that huge. And it’s pretty damn spill-proof.

If you do your own maintenance, you need one of these funnels. That’s all there is to it. It makes the job of filling and burping your coolant system so incredibly easy.

Burp!

Burp!

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  • Skeeler says:

    Looks super-useful. Just added one to my cart at Amazon.

  • Canaille says:

    Hi Adam,
    New part number is 24-610. Improved version they say.
    http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24610-Spill-Free-Funnel/dp/B001A4EAV0/

  • […] in coolant and water….I didn't do an exact measurement….kinda just eyeballed it….I got a Spill-Free Funnel just for doing this project. makes bleeding so much easier. Every dealership I worked for nearly […]

  • arshag says:

    How can I order this tools

    • Adam says:

      Read the post.

      “Amazon also sells a version of this. They have the Lisle 24610 Spill-Free Funnel listed on their site. Do a search. At the time of this posting, it was $23 and change.”

  • ToddB says:

    And yet another part number update, with even more improvements! 😀 It is now 24680. Around $35 at my local NAPA, $10 cheaper from Amazon.

  • James says:

    Great Information! Thanks for sharing this informative blog.
    Good Job!
    🙂

  • Joseph says:

    It’s a shame these cost about £50 or more (some for even £100) in the UK. There’s no reason it should cost that much but for some reason no one seems to sell them in the UK so they have to be shipped from the US, which doubles the price. There’s a market out there for this in the UK and someone needs to fill it for a reasonable price (£20-£30).

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