I've been chasing an issue with my 280z where the car idles very low when cold but runs perfectly when warm. To start ruling out potential causes, I decided to look for vacuum leaks. Now certainly one could check for vacuum leaks using some DIY methods like spraying carburetor cleaner all over an idling engine until a difference in RPM is heard. Those carb cleaner and propane methods of detecting leaks seemed imprecise to me. Recently I had watched some videos on YouTube on how to make a smoke machine for the purpose of detecting vacuum leaks in engines. This video is the one that I followed most closely to construct my smoke machine: Best Automotive Smoke Machine You Can Build. The video details the steps to build the unit, which requires a pickle jar, soldering iron, bicycle pump, epoxy, a Bic pen, vinyl tubing, a sock and baby oil. It feels rather McGyver-ish, but the end result is VERY effective.
In addition to building the smoke machine, I also picked up a device that can inject smoke into the manifold while also sealing the end: AUTOOL Easy Intake Adapter.
This device made it extremely easy to test the intake manifold for leaks.
I will detail the detection of each leak and it's correction in subsequent posts.
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