Update: That day a customer's old truck taught me about vacuum leaks

Had a 1987 Ford F-150 come in with a rough idle that three other shops couldn't fix. I spent maybe an hour just listening with a piece of heater hose, and found a tiny crack in a vacuum line behind the intake that sounded like a hissing snake. Anyone else have a go-to method for tracking down those sneaky vacuum leaks on older engines?

3 comments

3 Comments

willowadams21d ago

Man, that hose trick is a classic for a reason. Honestly, I've had decent luck with a cheap cigar and watching where the smoke gets sucked in on a cold engine. It sounds dumb, but it finds those invisible leaks nothing else can. Old school fixes for old school problems.

adam51721d ago

Honestly I've seen that smoke trick do more harm than good, gumming up sensors and hoses.

derekl7916d ago

My buddy swears by spraying carb cleaner around the hoses, his old Chevy would rev up and point right to the leak lol.