Valve adjustment, tightened EGR pipe... now major vacuum leak

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UGA2018

UGA2018

Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Threads
50
Messages
516
Location
Atlanta
I did a valve adjustment on my 1986 FJ60 last night and I think I did it right and everything seems to be running smooth with the valves. I was hoping it would cut down on more noise but like I suspected I had a exhaust leak. I found that this morning and just tighten some bolts down. It's better but not 100% gone.

I then put everything back together after scrubbing down some of the vacuum lines and cleaning things up. I just drove the truck and it now has a few strange things happening.

- The idle dropped about 400 RPM's and is struggling to to hold on.
- the brakes are very stiff. When I push the pedal I can usually push it down good the first time when coming to a stop. But if I take my foot off and then press again it is very stiff and takes a lot to get them to press down and slow the car.
- the steering seems stiff. Especially at lower speeds.
- the normal operating temp is higher than what used to be "normal"
- at idle the oil level is reading pretty low but jumps back up when I accelerate.

You think this is vacuum related? I went back and checked and can't find anything hooked up wrong but maybe it is.

Thanks for your help!
 
It very well could be.
Make sure that the T fitting above the PCV valve is connected to its hose.

If the engine has a big vacuum leak it will:

  1. Idle slower
  2. Run hotter due to overly lean fuel mixture
  3. Have worse brakes because there is less vacuum assist in the manifold
  4. Have less power steering assist at lower idle (not directly related to vacuum, but just because the engine is idling slower).
  5. Show lower oil pressure if the engine is idling slower (for the same reason as above)

Check the hoses again. But get a vacuum gauge & hook it up to the little fitting next to the brake booster hose & measure the vacuum. It will show you immediately.
image.webp
 
OSS said:
It very well could be.
Make sure that the T fitting above the PCV valve is connected to its hose.

If the engine has a big vacuum leak it will:

  1. Idle slower
  2. Run hotter due to overly lean fuel mixture
  3. Have worse brakes because there is less vacuum assist in the manifold
  4. Have less power steering assist at lower idle (not directly related to vacuum, but just because the engine is idling slower).
  5. Show lower oil pressure if the engine is idling slower (for the same reason as above)

Check the hoses again. But get a vacuum gauge & hook it up to the little fitting next to the brake booster hose & measure the vacuum. It will show you immediately.
View attachment 1497200
Click to expand...
I'll do it and report back.... Thanks!
 
Idle and brakes? Yes possibly vacuum related. Maybe even temperature.
Steering no, oil level? I assume you mean pressure no.
For the brakes to behave like they have no vacuum assist you must have a pretty big leak.
Look at the diagrams available on the forum and double check it again.
 
OSS said:
It very well could be.
Make sure that the T fitting above the PCV valve is connected to its hose.

If the engine has a big vacuum leak it will:

  1. Idle slower
  2. Run hotter due to overly lean fuel mixture
  3. Have worse brakes because there is less vacuum assist in the manifold
  4. Have less power steering assist at lower idle (not directly related to vacuum, but just because the engine is idling slower).
  5. Show lower oil pressure if the engine is idling slower (for the same reason as above)

Check the hoses again. But get a vacuum gauge & hook it up to the little fitting next to the brake booster hose & measure the vacuum. It will show you immediately.
View attachment 1497200
Click to expand...
@OSS where is that break booster hose? Thanks!
 
Rear of the manifold easy to see. Big hose from brake booster connects to it.
 
@OSS I figured it out. Not sure what I was thinking. Take a look at this picture. I think this is a pretty good sign that I have a vacuum leak. It was sitting right in the sweet spot a couple days ago so now something is wrong. take a look at this picture.

You think I need to go back through all my vacuum lines and see where things are hooked up wrong?

IMG_0123.webp
 
Yes that's a biggun. That's not just one of the little hoses disconnected, but a big one. Is the PCV tee hose connected? Is the PCV valve not stuck open? Maybe remove it & test it.

If the EGR valve is functional, give it a few whacks on the top with the plastic handle of a screwdriver- or remove its vac hose & blow HARD with your mouth on a separate length of hose connected to it to make sure it's seating.
 
I did figure out that these lines were not connected right. I made the correction but still no improvement.

IMG_0124.webp
 
You can see that I corrected the line from the EGR vacuum modulator that now correctly goes to the EGR valve.

IMG_0125.webp
 
I did check to make sure that the PCV t-line is attached to the HIC. You can see it is in the picture here. Also, I pulled the PCV valve out and shaked it to make sure I heard a rattle which I did. It is a new OEM valve that I just installed a couple of weeks ago so I think it should be good.

IMG_0136.webp
 
Also, I bumped the top of the EGR with the plastic side of a screwdriver. Nothing seemed to happen from that.

I'm posting a bunch of more pictures with the hopes that someone else will see something that I don't. I don't see a major line that isn't hooked up and I am pretty sure that they are hooked up in the right place. It makes me think some part has gone bad. Just not sure though.

I think I'm taking a mental break and maybe it will come to you or someone on this forum. Thanks for your help!

IMG_0128.webp


IMG_0131.webp


IMG_0132.webp


IMG_0133.webp


IMG_0134.webp
 
That white plastic valve inline with the vacuum tube going to the air cleaner is a bleed off valve for the choke opener. It's supposed to be there and it's important to have it. So far, the vac lines look good.

Since this low vacuum started right after adjusting the valves, is it possible that a valve got adjusted too tight?
 
OSS said:
That white plastic valve inline with the vacuum tube going to the air cleaner is a bleed off valve for the choke opener. It's supposed to be there and it's important to have it. So far, the vac lines look good.

Since this low vacuum started right after adjusting the valves, is it possible that a valve got adjusted too tight?
Click to expand...
I would guess that is possible. But I think I got it right. I think the only way that happened is if I was off on which rocker should be set to what. I don't think that is the case though. But right now I'm thinking anything is possible. I used the attached chart and did it when the engine was hot.

How would that impact the vacuum system though?

IMG_0079.webp
 


OK... maybe this has something to do with it. I have had a rattle/tingy sound under the truck for a while and couldn't figure it out. Since I did my valve adjustment and it didn't quiet as much as I wanted I thought for sure I had an exhaust leak. So I started investigating.

I found this loose pipe that I thought was causing the noise and just more noise from the engine bay than I wanted. I tighten the bolts down on this to avoid a exhaust leak and cut down on that rattle noise.

When looking online I found this picture which looks like the pipe I tightened. They are calling it the EGR pipe. I am wondering if by tightening it I happening to do something to the EGR valve or system. I'm just thinking it is all connected.

Any thoughts on that? Thanks MUD for all of your help!

IMG_0137.webp
 
I didn't read fully thru only because I saw the mention of the brakes. I read recently that one guy used to put a vac gauge on the truck and when pressing the brakes (not sure truck is running or not) if the needle moved 4 degrees one way or the other it was significant of a blown master.
I might be way off base but thought I'd mention it since I thought it was a damn handy trick.
Found the screen shot.

IMG_6567.webp
 
NeverGiveUpYota said:
I didn't read fully thru only because I saw the mention of the brakes. I read recently that one guy used to put a vac gauge on the truck and when pressing the brakes (not sure truck is running or not) if the needle moved 4 degrees one way or the other it was significant of a blown master.
I might be way off base but thought I'd mention it since I thought it was a damn handy trick.
Found the screen shot.

View attachment 1497319
Click to expand...
Thank you! I have to think it is related to something i've done recently with the truck but maybe not.
 
And FYI Mike you are leaps and bounds from where you were a few months (or weeks) ago when we talked. Regardless of the backstop, high five man!
 
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