Finding Vacuum Leaks with a Cigar

[Kaput]

I am posting this to hopefully help someone else in my situation. I have been struggling for years to get my bus to idle properly. Though it had run well at speed I was having trouble for years with stalling after running at higway speeds for any period of time. I was having to set my idle high (about 1200) to avoid the situation and thought it was a carb problem. After replacing the carb with a new one and getting similar results I started looking further into vacuum leaks. I used wd40, a propane torch and carb cleaner to try to find the leak previously but nothing seemed to cause a spike in RPM. So with determination to find an answer I tried this Cigar solution from Scotty Kilmer's Youtube channel and found the leak in a few minutes.
Link


I used an old bike tube and connected it where the air filter would be, opened the butterfly on the carb and blew in smoke from a cigar. I could see within a minute or 2 that there was smoke coming from the passenger side where the manifold connects to the head. Now after tightening it down I am FINALLY able to idle at 850 RPMs and go for a drive and have it settle right back down.

I am often reluctant to post here because this would probably be obvious to many people here (this post is not for you) but for others in this situation, it may save you years of carb adjustment frustration.

[airschooled]

Not obvious at all, nice fix!
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[vacca_rabite]

https://youtu.be/1BbU4JeyzMo

I made a smoke machine from stuff I had around the house and some parts from Home Depot. A little more sustained then trying to use a cigar.

https://youtu.be/tixozqgSwN0

Here is the Youtube video that I got the idea for the smoke machine from. I built it for about $50 - though I used a good bit of stuff I just had around the house. i only needed to buy the pipe fittings and nicrome wire.

I did try welding wire like the video, the nicrome works a LOT better.

Zach
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1972 T2 Bay Westy in restoration
1976 Porsche 914
196? Empi Sportster Dune Buggy

[skills@eurocarsplus]

i hope it backfires and blows scotty's pea brain out. of all the YT folks out there i can't stand him.

it's a very old trick. i learned that from an old MB tech chasing vacuum lines for the power lock system. having said that just buy a smoke machine. even a home made one is cheap and produces way more smoke than a cigar/cigarette could
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[Cap10323]

I hate Scotty Kilmer, but this is legitimately a good tip.


An even better tip, is to use one of those "douche bro" box vapes that produces the insane clouds of water vapor. It smells better than the cigar and you get way more vapor/smoke.

But I hate the smell of cigars, so maybe that's just me.


You can also buy a fog machine from the halloween store this time of year, and connect it to a small aquarium air pump. That works very well too and costs about $30.
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-Ian

'77 Westfalia - 2.0 F.I

[TDCTDI]

Ughhh


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[Abscate]

I built mine with a stage sage stick and small compressor, pictures in my gallery

Corrected [/s]
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.ssS!

[vwwestyman]

I didn't know what a "stage stick" was, and then was intrigued about how you build a smoke machine with a drum stick after googling it!

I hope using sage helped exorcise the demons plaguing your Eurovan!

I need to build one of these things. I've done the cigar trick (maybe from that same annoying guy's video) successfully. I've also tried building a machine with a soldering iron as the heat source, but it wasn't enough too keep stuff burning for long enough to be effective.
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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[SGKent]

based on a suggestion by Gary, and for $60 I had a new one complete with pressure regulator, wick, cables, heating element, and hoses delivered to my door a couple years ago. Added a little mineral oil and works like a charm. In 5 minutes I found the vacuum leak that caused a misfire in the Sable I had been chasing for years. Like I wanted Cigar ashes in the MAF or TB
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[cmonSTART]

I tried building one a few years back out of a pain can but had a hard time getting the right amount of air in. It either kept going out or went all Chernobyl on me..

I don't smoke, but actually considered getting a cigar at the time and trying.
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'78 Bus 2.0FI
de K1IGS

[Wildthings]

Maybe a cigar slid down into a piece of tubing which is connected to a hose. No way I would want to breath that crap into my lungs.

[aeromech]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EVAP-Smoke-Machine-Diagno...632-2357-0

$68 delivered but you’ll need lantern wick and mineral oil. Both can be bought through amazon
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[timvw7476]

[vwwestyman]

[Wildthings]

[Abscate]

[Abscate]

Scottys audio works great in the body shop, for paint removal.
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.ssS!

[TDCTDI]

[sjbartnik]

[TDCTDI]