Vacuum Question

Michael Yount said:
Skoobie - You'd think so, but here's how it actually works. There were only 10 E303 cams ever built. The original 10 purchasers used them for a month or two, and then they pull it out to replace it with something else. They sold the cam used to someone else who does the same thing. To date, thousands of people have been E cam users. And that's the true story of the E cam. :) Oh - there were only 10 original Crane PowerMax 2040 cam users too (same cam).
Michael, dont forget, as timely as it is, that the same 10 cams came with a free fruit cake. again, those same 10 cakes have been re-gifted time and time again.
 
E cam here, vacuum at idle is 14 inches.

Idle speed in neutral is 850, AOD car, gear is 600-650ish

Vacuum reading taken off the brake booster.

Good luck.

What is your vacuum reading at idle when the engine is revved up? It should drop to 0. Does it start to sputter and backfire. Just want to make sure we are chasing a vacuum leak.
 
Here are a couple tips for finding vacuum leaks for what its worth.

First tip carb clean its your friend. Take a can of carb clean while your car is running and spray it in locations of suspected areas. If you hit a leak your cars idle will bump up. caution dont catch your car on fire :)

* note: aftermarket intakes tend to sound like vacuum leaks but are not this is normal.

Second tip: unpluge your maf and remove your intake tube from your maf to tb. Start your car getting it running at idle. Get a chunk of cardboard (bigger than your tb inlet.) cover the inlet of the TB with the cardboard if your car is still running with your TB covered up you have a leak. Use tip one to locate the leak. Also a stehscope (sp) is really handy too.

Another note on your pcv issue. You said a shop diag. a bad pcv. Many pcv are missed diaged because the metal screen is pluged (screen sits right under the pcv.) I highly recommend you atleast inspect the screen to see if its cloged. I always replace them in pairs. If the screen is pluged it will cause excessive crankcase pressure and could cause engine and seal damage. Good luck
Any questions send a pm
 
Michael Yount said:
But what does that have to do with fruit cake or the E cam?
if one puts the cake on top of the motor (to try to warm it up and make it edible) the idle, with that cam, will change. :)
 
The screen is in good shape. I pulled it and cleaned it out when I pulled the upper intake. I'll try the carb cleaner trick tomarrow as long as Im not coughing up lung cookies (been sick since before thankgiving) As far as 'warming the cake so its edible'...if you EVER find a way to make Fruit Cake edible you will be the richest man on the planet...thats right up there with finding the cure for cancer :p
 
Well this is frustrating. I tried the carb cleaner and it didnt seem to effect the idle. Tomarrow I'll try cramming the fruit cake into the TB and see what happens :banana: Meen while what else could I try? I sprayed the vac tree, around the upper intake, TB, and the PCV area. Did I miss anything? Another thing I noticed about the idle is that is seems to go in cycles. I was standing there waiting for it to warm up and I could hear it; it would go from a smooth lopey idle and slowly transition to a studdery idle and then back again. Cycle maybe took 10-20 seconds? Not sure on that. Does this mean anything? :shrug:
 
My stock one does that when its cold. Only for a few minutes and if you stay at idle that long. Once warmed up its steady. Pull the codes as suggested by M. Yount, and you could try cleaning the TB out real good. Take it off the intake and clean the crap out of it. Its a major cause of idle surge, and practically free to try. I have the idle adjuster plate too, did nothing for me. :D
 
Squirted nearly half a can of carb clean in the TB. Everything is nice and clean, including the Mass air sensor. I guess the next thing to try is the codes. Unfortunatly we only have Napa, Schucks, and Car Quest in town. I dont think anyone of those pulls codes for free :shrug:
 
Skoobie - did you remove the IAB solenoid - and clean it, and the ports passages that feed air through it? It controls the idle air and it's clogging/gunk in there that causes problems sometimes.

Also, are you certain all of your vacuum hoses are in good shape? IF they're original, my experience is that they've usually begun to dry out and crack, and when you go messing with them (to work on the car) vacuum leaks often occur. Vacuum hose is pretty cheap to buy.
 
Im not sure what the IAB is? Or what it may look like so no I have not cleaned it :D What I did do today is re-hook up the vacuum line that goes from the intake to the carbon canister (Had it blocked off) and Im running some fuel system cleaner to wash out any carbon build-up. So we'll see what happens. Got any pics of the IAB?