Hmmm, not a chance of vacuum, and yep, nice oily air. I guess there's only two options for connecting the pipe at the top of the oil bath - either to the left or to the right. Had a quick google to see if it is definitely one and not the other - vzi came up with this which kind of implies mine is correct, but possibly might not be.... So if I swap the pipes left to right, and give it another suck I'll hopefully get vacuum and know that mine is just one of those odd one's that's the wrong way round? Still no vacuum and it's the actuator that's kernackered?
I don't think it matters, tbh. The two connections are to a simple thermo-valve thingy that opens or closes according to air temp. Pull the pipe off going to the "funny round thing". That's the actuator. Suck. If it's good, you'll get tunnel vision and your ears will implode . If it's duff, you'll be able to keep sucking, which means the actuator diaphragm has split. Quicker still, pull off the pipe from the manifold, bung the end up (golf tee is handy) and see if your engine runs ok.
It's no wonder my neighbours think I'm mad! Right, here goes.... Swapping the top pipes round makes no difference: with the pipe from the inlet manifold connected to either the right or the left connection at the top of the oil bath, no amount of sucking is producing a vacuum. Summit wrong here. But sucking the pipe that is connected to the actuator / flying saucer at the bottom, does indeed make my eyes bulge, my ears ring, and the little flappy thing inside the trumpet lift up. I think my diaphragm is all present and correct. I'm not sucking anything else tonight now. (I can hear you all sniggering )
Surely if you have a vacuum leak your engine would stall every now and then and especially when coming off the motorway. I spray carb cleaner at all cracks and that finds leaks very fast. One crude way i know my vacuum is good when driving is when you rapidly pump the brake pedal the revs will increase. If it drops I must have a leak. My bet is because your problem needs a good mechanic. You may even have a bad spark. It is quite easy to damage a lead messing. Poor starting and running could be caused by many things and it may be a coincidence that it happened when you had the work done.
I'll have to do it tomorrow now, for fear of starving to death. What should / shouldn't happen if the pipe is blocked off? And I guess I need to block the hole in the inlet manifold at the same time?
You are a marval of a woman. As a new owner trying to develop enough knowledge and skill to keep Alma running, I refer to your posts often for inspiration and help.
Ha ha thanks, I think! But it’s the folk on here that are the marvel, and the wonderful resource that is TLB: I doubt I would still have my van if it wasn’t for here, I would have floundered and probably given up, out of my depth. I know it’s been said a number of times on your postings about Alma, but Techenders really is worth the effort of getting there, and again it is one of the main reasons I don’t end up in a darkened room, gently rocking in a corner, gibbering about big ends, air flaps, and whether SAE30 oil would be good for the roast potatoes at Christmas It’s nice to put faces to names, and hopefully helps when I ask slightly panicked questions on here, that I’ve had a drink and a laugh with a good few of those kind enough to reply. Keep going with Alma, it’s invariably worth it when you are behind the wheel, as I’m sure you have found by now
I’ve seen a few posts from you full of positivity and niceness Please keep it up it’s a welcome change
I was under the impression that this is precisely how people behave at tech enders - particularly those personages who bring intoxicating beverages in tin cans...
Was going to write “no, but I was watching from my bed” and then realised it sounds well creepy. Good job I didn’t type it!!!