OK so for the last several months I’ve been having horrible drivability issues. Mostly my car was shutting off when the A/C was running and coming to a stop. Or just clutching in to neutral the car would miss idle and die. I did the normal trouble shooting of changing/cleaning the IAC, cleaned the MAF, etc. Nothing helped it. I was sure I had a leak somewhere, but couldn't seem to find it with my soapy water spray bottle mix.
With that said I started looking into smokers (also known as fog systems). Once I saw the price tag..."500-700 bucks" I decided that was a no go for some vacuum leaks. I came across a few DIY home kits and decided to give it the old college try. And the results were awesome to say the least. Now keep in mind the materials are not exactly "visually pleasing." But if you like something that is cheap and works this is something for you The only thing not purchased was an old water hose I had that worked great with this set up.
I disconnected my intake all the way to the throttle body and then taped the inlet shut to prevent smoke from exiting. I simply placed the end into a vacuum line off the intake and pumped in the smoke. This was the result and my problem.
I had a pretty bad leak on the inlet hose of the IAC and the IAC gasket itself was allowing a leak.
Next was my exhaust system. I knew my exhaust had a bad leak since I re-installed the H-pipe so I decided to find out just how good the system I put together was. I disconnected my OII sensor and put the smoke end into the hole. I also plugged up my tail pipes.
This was what I found instantly.
The pictures do not do it justices on how visible the smoke was. I was leaking around both my front and rear H-pipe, along with my EGR delete cap.
I hope someone finds this useful. My car has not had any issues with idle since leak checking. And my cabin is much quieter since getting those exhaust leaks fixed. Granted i know it can be built better and probably cheaper (spent under $70). But let me know what you'll think. Any questions just ask!
With that said I started looking into smokers (also known as fog systems). Once I saw the price tag..."500-700 bucks" I decided that was a no go for some vacuum leaks. I came across a few DIY home kits and decided to give it the old college try. And the results were awesome to say the least. Now keep in mind the materials are not exactly "visually pleasing." But if you like something that is cheap and works this is something for you The only thing not purchased was an old water hose I had that worked great with this set up.
I disconnected my intake all the way to the throttle body and then taped the inlet shut to prevent smoke from exiting. I simply placed the end into a vacuum line off the intake and pumped in the smoke. This was the result and my problem.
I had a pretty bad leak on the inlet hose of the IAC and the IAC gasket itself was allowing a leak.
Next was my exhaust system. I knew my exhaust had a bad leak since I re-installed the H-pipe so I decided to find out just how good the system I put together was. I disconnected my OII sensor and put the smoke end into the hole. I also plugged up my tail pipes.
This was what I found instantly.
The pictures do not do it justices on how visible the smoke was. I was leaking around both my front and rear H-pipe, along with my EGR delete cap.
I hope someone finds this useful. My car has not had any issues with idle since leak checking. And my cabin is much quieter since getting those exhaust leaks fixed. Granted i know it can be built better and probably cheaper (spent under $70). But let me know what you'll think. Any questions just ask!
