I Think My Car Has a Vacuum Leak! How Can I Tell?
Your car, truck, or C/SUV will give you indications that it has a vacuum leak. Specifically, what is leaking is a vacuum hose. The vacuum that the engine generates is transported through the hoses to power various components in the engine. An example of one of these components is the power steering pump. If your vehicle’s components are acting up, this could be a sign that there is a vacuum leak in the engine. Total Auto Care is going to list the other signs of a vacuum leak below.
Acceleration Hesitation
When the vacuum pressure leaks out of the hose, it fills the engine with air. Consequently, this directly affects the delicate balance between the air and fuel in the combustion chamber. You will end up with excess air in the chamber that will cause your vehicle’s acceleration to hesitate and sputter. Unfortunately, you will continue to have this problem until you get the vacuum leak fixed.
Sputtering Engine
You will also have an engine that sputters. Again, this is because the vacuum leak is releasing extra air into the combustion chamber and causing the engine to become fuel-starved. In other words, it has more air than fuel. As we just mentioned, your engine will continue to have performance issues until the vacuum leak is fixed. The engine does not stop producing vacuum even though the hose is leaking.
High and Sporadic RPMs
As the vacuum pressure spurts out of the leaking vacuum hose, the RPMs will increase temporarily. As a result, you will see that your tachometer needle is registering higher than normal as well as bouncing up and down. This sign is a definite indication that there is a vacuum leak in the engine.
Hissing or Suction Noises
You may also hear hissing noises coming from your engine if you have a minor vacuum leak. If you have a major vacuum leak, you will hear suction sounds coming from the leaking vacuum hose. Replacing the hose with one that doesn’t leak will stop these annoying engine noises.
Dashboard Warning Light
Finally, because the balance between the air and fuel is not normal, your vehicle’s main computer chip, the engine control unit, will alert you of the trouble via the check engine light. When there is a problem with the fuel or air in the combustion chamber, the engine control unit receives error codes from system sensors. This causes it to illuminate the check engine light on the dashboard.Total Auto Care in North Branch, MN, would be happy to inspect your engine to find the vacuum leak. Once we find it, we will fix it.