shop-talk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Finding a vacuum leak

To: <shop-talk@autox.team.net>, <jbabcoc@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Finding a vacuum leak
From: "Tim Mullen" <Tim.Mullen@trw.com>
Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 10:21:14 -0400
I'm not in favor of wholesale replacing of hoses.  It might be a good idea on 
an engine with hard, brittle, stiff hoses, but ot all rubber hoses are made 
equal.  
I had my old Honda for 16 years, and only had to replace one hose (it rubbed 
on a bracket and developed a hole).  I replaced the hose with a good quality 
hose -  about 4 times during the 16 years.  After 16 years, all the rest of the 
hoses were in good leak free condition.  I have also managed (on other cars) 
to break the (plastic) nipples of various devices while changing hoses.  Tends 
to tick you off when you have to replace a $50 vacuum solenoid to replace 
a $0.50 hose.

I have used a propane torch to check for leaks before.  It works very well.  
Just do it outside, and as someone mentioned, let it air out between tests - 
i.e. 
don't crank up the torch and continue testing non-stop for a hour.  In any 
case, I highly doubt that the propane will ignite from the heat around an 
engine.  I suspect that you are going to need a spark to ignite it - I know 
that I can turn off the flame in my BBQ, and when the flames are gone, 
crank the gas back on.  No flames until I hit the "spark ignitor"...

By the way, I even bought a "special" tool for testing for vacuum leaks.  
It's a regulator that attaches to the propane tank with a hose.  The end 
of the hose has a wand that I can probe around the engine to put the 
propane "up close" to suspected leaks.  It works quite well...

An as someone else mentioned, I hand held vacuum pump (such as 
MityVac) can prove invaluable for searching for leaks and faulty components.

Tim Mullen

///
///  shop-talk@autox.team.net mailing list
///  To unsubscribe send a plain text message to majordomo@autox.team.net
///  with nothing in it but
///
///     unsubscribe shop-talk
///
///


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>