1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hi, Dan.
You said, "Also I hear alot about vacume leaks & I need a detailed in depth explanation of how I would find a vacume leak, and what exactly would be considered one."
Jan's recommendation to just go ahead and replace all the tubing has merit, but it doesn't guarantee you'll get all the leaks. The reason is because sometimes the devices connected to those vacuum lines are leaky, and it's not always just the vacuum lines themselves -- though that is most often the case.
Some people suck on lines with their mouths to test them. (It's yucky and not too accurate.) Others rely on visual inspections, testing lines to see if they're cracked, hardened, disconnected, etc., and you can find a lot of problems that way. Still others like to use a propane torch... they wave it around (unlit!!!) near the lines with the engine running, and when they hear an RPM increase, they know they have a leak. I have never used this method and don't really want to try it -- just seems dangerous to me, and besides, there's a better way.
I know you're worried about money, but trust me, this is a worthwhile investment. Buy yourself a vacuum handpump tester. Mine is called a MityVac, and it comes with a kit to bleed brakelines. It's a hand-operated vacuum pump with a vacuum gauge on top of it. It cost me less than $25 at a discount store -- check out K-Mart or WalMart before you pay more at a car parts place like Pep Boys.
With the pump, you can find most vacuum problems on the car. Disconnect the lines from the intake manifold one at a time, hook them to the pump, and pump away, watching the gauge. If you can pump good hard vacuum and it holds, then that line is good. If it won't hold vacuum at all, or it quickly bleeds down, then you need to follow that line and find out why. You might need to replace tubing, a plastic T, or some little vacuum-operated valve or gizmo that's blown its little diaphram. Systematic searching with the MityVac will usually work! Check the vac lines going to the distributor, the fuel regulator, and the branching one that comes off near the brake booster hose as likely first candidates.
If you find and fix the problem for the cost of the tool and some tubing, you'll more than have repaid yourself the cost of taking it to the dealer to have them do the same thing!
Keep at it, Dan. You'll find it.
- = M = -
, Sat, 4 Nov 2000 00:09:55, Mon, 6 Nov 2000 13:14:04
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