Had a small hole in the back of the block in the coolant jacket... went to get it welded and then put everything back together and it still leaked.

So is there an easier way to 'check' if the weld is good without starting the motor?

If I just plug all the coolant lines that would go through the intake manifold and apply air pressure to the coolant system it should pressurize it enough for air to blow through the weld (if its no good), and then i can see bubbling if i put soapy water over where the weld is...

 

there's cooling system guage you can use, it is a pressurizing system to check if the system will hold the pressure(variable) over time. and it doesnt require you to start the car.

autozone sells and rent them out i think.

you'll need a fitting to fasten it on the radiator outlet(the port that connect to the cap).

1.1 bar is roughly 14-15psi, go pump it to 10psi and see if it will hold for 2-3 minute, increase the psi only after you inspected the pressure didnt drop.

Dont know if it will help you or not, by the way, did you have someone tig weld it for you?

 

indeed