exhaust gas recirculator vacuum timer?

[Deano]

I have an ungodly vacuum leak and I can't find it. I've tried carb cleaner, water in a spray bottle, and taking it to a garage for them to not to be able find it. I have one part that is not connected to anything. It has a two pronged electrical terminal and metal vacuum port on one end and two plastic vacuum ports on the other. My diagram only shows two lines. One from the carb and the other from the ported vacuum switch. Is the part I have boxed in red the one in question? And, where do all these damned hoses go?
The whistling dies down when I'm trying to get going or I'm giving her the onions, but the second I get to cruising speed, it starts right back up again.
The car is sharp and the 318 runs good, but the leak is borderline embarrassing.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

It is but it looks like the service manual reversed the descriptions. What are the hoses doing now that are supposed to be connected to it.
Look carefully at all the hoses. Leaks like that are most common to be the end of a hose that cracked or is hard and no longer seals and you can usually cut the bad end off to fix it without having to replace the hose.

 

[BudW]

The EGR valve uses ported vacuum - so no vacuum until higher RPM's AND is switched on via the Computer.

Your car shouldn't have an A.I.R. Pump on it - but should use a larger rubber hose (Pink arrow) coming from lower air cleaner to an aspirator valve (Yellow arrow) that connects the exhaust. The hose looks somewhat like the large rubber hose that connects to the crankcase breather (Blue Arrow) on passenger side valve cover. When that hose (to aspirator) is disconnected or when air cleaner lid is off and engine is running, it makes a very irritating noise.

Could this be what you are hearing?

A faulty brake booster, booster hose or check valve might also be possible as well as leaving the vacuum hose off going to the computer (White arrow), or the hose going to the air cleaner hot air door (Green circle) which connects to a temp sensor at bottom of air cleaner and then to the base of the carburetor.

Let us know what you find.
BudW

Edit: "... or I'm giving her the onions, ..." a cool saying.

 

[Deano]

Mikes5th, there were no hoses connected to it at all. I was wondering which hoses and where they're coming from.

BudW, the first picture isn't where it's coming from. When that hose is disconnected, it sounds like a gurgling noise, right? I'm getting the whistling when the air cleaner is attached or not.

I can't take credit for "giving her the onions". There's a guy on YouTube that has a channel called Vice Grip Garage that uses that phrase. He's a dipshit but I think he's funny as hell. Might be worth hooking your peepers on.

 

[AJ/FormS]

If the whistle is in the airhorn, then it is not a vacuum leak. Most likely is that the air is screaming past a too-far closed throttle valve. The cure is usually just to open the throttle a little further. Of course, this will increase the idle-speed. If it becomes too high, the only option is to retard the Idle-Timing to bring it down.This assumes that the PCV is working.
My Dad's 84 FA whistled too.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

The sticker shows where the hoses go. That ccegr valve should be something coming out of the intake with a vacuum tree on it. The other one going to a port on the carb. How is the egr valve hooked up right now?
A vacuum hose pulled off usually makes a sucking sound, slight whistle or no noise at all.

 

[Duke5A]

Suck or blow? Still got the smog pump on the car?

A vacuum leak won't make a loud enough noise to be heard coming down the road, but a leaky smog pump sure will.

 

[BudW]

@Duke5A I am pretty sure (but not 100% certain) his car does not have an A.I.R./smog pump on it - which is unusual to have a computer, but no pump.

BudW, the first picture isn't where it's coming from. When that hose is disconnected, it sounds like a gurgling noise, right? I'm getting the whistling when the air cleaner is attached or not.

Yes, an irritating gurgle noise.

If the whistle is in the airhorn, then it is not a vacuum leak. Most likely is that the air is screaming past a too-far closed throttle valve.

Very true statement. If placing your hand on top of the air horn when engine is running, and noise gets much quieter, then this might be a normal noise.
Most vacuum leaks are not that loud, except for the large hoses for PCV or for brake booster. Some carburetors are louder than others are at idle - which is noise generated from air squeezing past the throttle blades

 

[Deano]

The whistle existed with the old carb, too. There was a small leak at the base of the new carb, but I got that straightened out and it still squealing.

@Duke5A I am pretty sure (but not 100% certain) his car does not have an A.I.R./smog pump on it - which is unusual to have a computer, but no pump.

No smog pump. Come to think of it, the '79 I had back in the day didn't have one either.

The sticker shows where the hoses go. That ccegr valve should be something coming out of the intake with a vacuum tree on it. The other one going to a port on the carb. How is the egr valve hooked up right now?
A vacuum hose pulled off usually makes a sucking sound, slight whistle or no noise at all.

One port is connected to the EGR valve and the other is not connected to anything at the moment because the other end is in the first picture of the thread opener.

What I'm wondering is- there are three ports (red arrows) and an electrical terminal (yellow arrows). I know which connector hooks up to it. One vacuum hose comes from the CCEGR switch and I don't know where the other two (the other two plastic and the metal port by the terminal) are coming from or going to. One hose would have to connect to it. But which end- the plastic or metal port?

Jeez! I think my ears just started bleeding!!

 

[Mikes5thAve]

What I'm wondering is- there are three ports (red arrows) and an electrical terminal (yellow arrows). I know which connector hooks up to it. One vacuum hose comes from the CCEGR switch and I don't know where the other two (the other two plastic and the metal port by the terminal) are coming from or going to. One hose would have to connect to it. But which end- the plastic or metal port?

Jeez! I think my ears just started bleeding!!

View attachment 44297

The vacuum hose routing diagram sticker in your first post shows the connections. The metal one goes to the carburetor to a port in the front right (yellow hose on sticker). The plastic port on the side goes to the ccegr switch (blue line) and from the switch to the egr valve (white line). The other plastic connector looks like it doesn't connect to anything so it was probably supposed to have a plug or piece of foam on it.

Unless they've been replaced or worn off the original hoses usually had colored lines on them to match the colors on the sticker.

 

[Deano]

There isn't a vacuum port on the carb for the yellow line. The only port on the front is the one that runs to the charcoal canister.

 

[Deano]

If placing your hand on top of the air horn when engine is running, and noise gets much quieter, then this might be a normal noise.

The only thing that happens when I put my hand over the throat of the carb is the engine dying. Doesn't affect the screech at all. I lower the idle speed and the whistling has a lower tone.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

There isn't a vacuum port on the carb for the yellow line. The only port on the front is the one that runs to the charcoal canister.

Then the carb has been replaced with the wrong one at some point. Find another port to hook it up to.

Usually with that solenoid it connects to one that has vacuum at idle and the solenoid turns it off and makes it act like a ported source (no vacuum at idle) for the egr. If you don't have any spare ports you'll need a T to hook it up. Or just don't use the egr. At that age the passage in the intake is probably blocked with carbon and not working anyway. You can check that by connecting the egr valve directly to something that has vacuum when it's idling and if it's still working it should make the engine run rough.

 

[Deano]

Then the carb has been replaced with the wrong one at some point.

When I bought the car, it had, I believe a Holley type replacement. Here's a pic of the old carb. The tag says; "Autoline C-7180- remanufactured in Canada". It still had the Lean Burn parts and pieces.

I bought a Carter BBD as a replacement. It's in the last three.

Is any port on a carburetor for vacuum?

 

[BudW]

That is a Holley 2280 and is not came with your car originally. The Carter BBD is what the diagram is for and the ports will be at different locations.
Here is a couple pictures for an '86 318 (computer controlled) Holley 6280. Most of the ports will be in same location, but where the hose goes after that might be/will be different.

I would also look at the choke thermostat for the BBD and 2280 choke thermostat arm lengths (yellow arrow) are not the same - which affects the choke operation/cold engine drivabilty. You might have to remove the thermostat from intake and take a wire brush to it. If for the 2280, it will be stamped "Holley" on it. If it is not stamped "Holley", then I would find a '86-89 318 2-bbl choke thermostat to install on car.

The throttle return and kickdown linkage springs are off.
- The Green arrow is for cruise control "make-up" link. The cruise cable is missing but you can leave the link alone, as is.
- The silver spring (red circles) need to attach to the carburetor and not to the transmission kickdown linkage slide. This might not seam important, but can affect the operation and longevity of the transmission clutches and shift points.
- There is a missing spring where the orange arrow/circles are at. It is a "light weight" spring to keep proper tension on it, and not the "heavy weight" silver spring.
It might not seam like much but those springs and and do make a long-term difference. They are fine for short term, though.\

Here are (dirty) pictures from my '86 Fifth Ave 318 2-bbl (BBD). It does have the cruise still attached, so you can disregard that aspect.

BudW

 

[Deano]

The first picture of the rusty Autoline carb is of setup the car had when I bought it. I purchased a new choke thermostat shortly after mounting the new BBD.

I'm really not worried about the cruise control. I would never use it anyway.

 

[Deano]

I figured it out! I changed out the spark plug wires. When I finished, I fired the car up to see if it was running any different and, for some unknown reason, unplugged the vacuum hose to the brake power booster while the car was running. The whistling stopped!! I guess now I'm in the market for a new booster!

 

[AJ/FormS]

Not so fast Deano
that's a pretty big hose to the booster, and so, a pretty big vacuum leak. With the reduced vacuum, it may be that whatever was causing the whistle, simply did not have the required airflow to continue.
Had you mentioned that you clamped the supply line to the booster and the whistle did not return, then I might agree with you.

 

[Deano]

Yeah, I never thought about that. I'll go out and try it real quick like.

 

[Deano]

Fired it up- whistling. Took needle nose vise grips and pinched off the booster hose- whistling stops.