Couple of problems: Vacuum Leak, Coolant temp sensor, birdcage light..*Pics included*

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

3 Problems-

1.) Vacuum Leak

Symptoms: Very high pitched squeal/scream sound coming from somewhere on the intake side of things. It appears to be close to the back side of the engine by the firewall. for the most part, i have checked almost all of the simple little vacuum hoses for leaks/misconnections and have not found anything yet. perhaps its from the new intake manifolds that i put on the plenum, both upper and lower ones.

PIC:

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2.) Coolant Temperature Sensor

Symptoms: Coolant temperature gauge is not showing a reading. i believe that the clip was broke off during the engine pull and when everything was hooked back up, all that was left was one bare wire and no clip. so using my best judgment, i added more wire to it and "soldered" it to the little prong on the sensor. is this even the coolant temp sensor in the first place?

PIC:

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3.) Birdcage Light is On

Symptoms: The light turned on ever since the first start after we installed the engine. I know for a fact that i didn't have enough coolant in when we did it but i have since added more. I have added enough to fill it all the way up to the neck of the radiator. Perhaps i have air in the system. who knows. ideas?

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i think i have found the reason why i have some serious vibrations at 40+ mph! check out all of the encircled areas in red for locations of HUGE bulges in my tire!

PIC:

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Any help would be appreciated. thanks!

-Tyler

 

[pimptrizkit]

the bird light cage is in your coolant over flow bottle. Not your radiator. Try filling that. If the light doesnt go off its because the sensor is stuck sideways or at the bottom and u have to knock it loose.

 

[IJ.]

3) BHG soon (Bird Has Gone)

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

hah. we will see about the BHG. ive got a MHG installed and it all looked good when the motor was out. ill play with the sensor tomorrow. thanks! maybe ill get some luck from july 4th!

 

[jetjock]

Ugh. Silicone hose on the brake booster. Not a good idea because it can collapse. Looks like the short 90 degree piece on the other end of the manifold already has. And no, that's not for your coolant gage. Coolant sender is on the engine side of the thermostat.

 

[plaaya69]

On the Vacuum Leak, Check the line that comes from the rear of the intake manifold and then makes two lines(one for the plastic peice that goes to the heater VSV and the other for the boost sensor.

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

Ugh. Silicone hose on the brake booster. Not a good idea because it can collapse. Looks like the short 90 degree piece on the other end of the manifold already has. And no, that's not for your coolant gage. Coolant sender is on the engine side of the thermostat.

the 90 degree piece has not collapsed, it just has a wierd look to it. ill look into replacing the brake boost line. what sensor was it that i hooked the wire too? thanks for replying.

On the Vacuum Leak, Check the line that comes from the rear of the intake manifold and then makes two lines(one for the plastic peice that goes to the heater VSV and the other for the boost sensor.

ok, i will look into that tomorrow. ive for the most part looked into most vacuum lines around the back side of the intake manifold. is there any chance that i could have a bad intake plenum gasket kit?

-Tyler

 

[jetjock]

People do that all the time because they don't know better but there's a reason the factory stuff is reinforced. It's the same on all cars. It depends on how thick the hose wall is but you wouldn't be the first guy to lose brake boost because of silicone hose.

The other line I mentioned looks flat and might be collapsing when the engine is running, depriving the entire manifold tree of vacuum. Change those hoses to something more rigid or at least amble on down to the hardware store and buy some springs to put in them.

The coolant sensor you soldered is for the AC system. I dunno what you have hooked up to it though.

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

it is hooked up to whatever loose wire was there in the harness that the clip broke off of. . . so i dont know.

ill get that silicone hose taken care of.

and u said the coolant temp sensor was on the engine side of the thermostat? im not very good at reading and visualizing. sorry, its raining out, otherwise id go look

 

[jetjock]

The thermostat has a radiator side and an engine side. Coolant gages are usually on the engine side so coolant temp can be measured even when the thermostat is closed. The 2 wire EFI sensor is on the engine side for the same reason. Look when you get the chance and you'll see what I mean.

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

awesome. ill check those tomorrow morning if i get a chance.

is there any real damage that i can cause by driving teh car with a vacuum leak like mine? will a pinched hose or open line cause that loud of a squel/scream sound? i can hear it inside the car and its screwing up my idle too. i idle at around 400-500 rpms. its kinda crazy.

 

[jetjock]

Depends on how big the leak is. If it's small the O2 sensor will compensate but if it's too large it can't. I'd find it if I were you. Too bad you don't have a smoke machine, it makes such jobs a pleasure. You could always inject a few psi of compressed air into the brake booster line with the engine off and listen. Or you could use propane while monitoring the O2 sensor. Squirting carb cleaner around is so Jurassic...

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

what about spraying soapy water

so whats the worst that can happen with driving on a vacuum leak? will i just run bad a/f mixtures in my cylinders if indeed it is a intake plenum gasket? ill have to dig into it tomorrow if i get a chance.

 

[Dunckel]

Squirting carb cleaner around is so Jurassic...

It works though, doesn't it?? I mean, for those that don't have a smoke machine, or an air compressor handy.

Pros: ??
Cons: ??
Just wondering.

 

[pimptrizkit]

carb cleaner is a bit corosive, doesn't treat rubber right, and may possible change paint color or bubble,

if your looking for vac leaks like i think your doing get a propane bottle and attach a hose to the torche nosle, and run the hose along vac lines, if your rpm changes very much then you found a line you should replace,

 

[jetjock]

It works though, doesn't it?? I mean, for those that don't have a smoke machine, or an air compressor handy.

Pros: ??
Cons: ??
Just wondering.

Yeah, it works. Badly. I suppose you could take an engine apart with pliers and an adjustable wrench too. I mean, for those that don't have real tools handy. Pros? Cons? Just wondering

If the leak is so bad he can hear it he ought ought to be able to find it with just a length of hose to his ear...

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

well i fixed the birdcage light. i just played with the sensor for abit and added some coolant to the overflow and it went away instantly. still need to locate the vacuum leak.

 

[GrimJack]

Check your EGR system for that leak...

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

regarding the EGR system... i have a jdm swap so i am EGR'less. it was EGR'less before the pull and still am.

 

[CampbellsChunkySoupra]

UPDATE:

coolant sensor is fixed. the friend who hooked that part of it up during the reinstallationg put the AC coolant sensor clip on the coolant temp sensor clip. i just had to switch them around and do some re wiring. all is good.

fixed my vacuum leak in the boost guage. all is good their now. im now idling at around -17-20.

yeah, and i found a RANDOM ASS piece in my engine bay that was not connected. its got vacuum connections on it too. heres the pic. where does this go?