So my engines been running kind of rough. I noticed that there was a leak like air hissing out of it somewhere but couldn't find it. Today I turned it on and was touching all the wires untill I came across one in the back. It leads into a screw type thing and is a long hose going to my emissions (I think its the cylinder shaped thing in the front corner of the drivers side). Well it was all dry rotted and the wire looks like it should have another hose going off of it but its all burnt up.

So to paint a picture its a black plastic piece has a funnel like bottom and a semi cylinder top wich goes into two connector pieces for hoses. One coming off the top of it (the one that is burned) and one coming off the side (one going to my emissions). The emmisions one is dry rotted througout and the funnel part of the plastic piece has oil on it. What is this piece? How would it affect the way my car runs? Thank you.

 

I want to help you but your clear lack of any understanding of your car and its systems makes it very difficult. I could try to guess at what you're describing. it really sounds more like your cruise control servo than an emmissions device. I would much rather see you spend some time studying a service manual in order to familiarixe yourself with your cars design and parts. Then you can ask informed questions. BTW, any unmetered air leak will cause your engine to run lean.

 

if i am understanding your post correctly i believe what you are looking at is the check valve..Small piece has one line going to it from your intake and 2 lines coming out 1 to the cruise control ..I dont remember where the other goes..Maybe Egr solenoid..Either way you have to fix that vaccuum leak as ASE doc said

 

I could take a picture no need to insult me lol. Im trying to learn about my car. This is my first car and im in the process of learning hahah. here you go

The first one is the piece, the second one ( you can see a hose where there is nothing connected thats where the piece in the first pic goes). Then it goes down into that screw thing in the top of my block.

 

oh here is where the wire that wasnt burnt was going. Its on the drivers side front corner. The pic is upside down

 

yep that piece is the check valve avaible at autozone in the help section..Like 5 bucks

 

Thanks.. This will have an effect on the way its running? Well yeah I guess right duh! I was wandering why it was overheating now I know because it was running lean. See.. learn something new everyday. Ill be a pro one day haha.

 

This is the vacuum hose routing diagram for your car. Look around your TBI unit and follow the hoses just to make sure they are connected and in good shape. If you see any of the ports coming off of the TBI that are open with a hose missing than cap it off until you can fix it right.I hope you have found your problem but this diagram will help until you can get a manual for your car.

 

My car still wants to overheat I dont know what it is. I cant find where the top of the check valve goes. Where should that hose be going to?

 

I don't mean to insult you. I apologize if my comments seemed critical. I merely want you to do the most you can to help yourself and help us to help you. You can do this by educating yourself on your car and its systems.

The top of the check valve should be attached to intake manifold vacuum. Does your car still have the emissions label? It should have a hose routing schematic printed on it which you can refer to. The overheating can be made worse by lean running, but you may have a cooling system issue that you need to look at.

When your engine is cold, remove the radiator cap and look for signs of contamination. Check the color and clarity of your coolant. Your TBI has a mechanical fan if I remember correctly. Check the thermostatic clutch for resistance to turning by hand with the engine stopped. It should have a bit of drag even cold. Check your thermostat by feeling for the upper rad hose to get hot as the engine reaches operating temp.

 

Should he replace the radiator cap ?
Also when you say over heat,dose that mean the gage is above 220 climbing to 260 .What I'm trying to say is what exactly is it doing to conclude that its over heating ? Other than "its running rough"

 

A failing radiator cap will not hold pressure. This would be evident in soft hoses at operating temperature and excessive coolant level in the reservoir. Of course if the cap looks ugly, it's a cheap part to replace.

 

If he takes off the air intake unit and looks at each hose and follow each one to its destination using the diagram I posted he can eliminate those as a source.Unless ones rotted threw. He could use a 1/2 diameter length of rubber hose to his ear searching the bay with the other end for the source.

 

That's true. A length of hose makes a very good tool for finding air leaks.

 

Actually, the TBI cars run a single, electric fan. These cars are setup from the factory to run pretty damn hot. In fact, too hot in my opinion. Anyways, the factory fan temp sensor located in the passenger side cylinder head is setup to turn the fan on at 227 degrees. My original 89 TBI motor used to run around 210-220 degrees quite often. In fact, any time I was in stop and go traffic it'd stay around those temps. The only time it cooled down good is when you get going about 40 mph or faster for a steady amount of time. I guess what I'm trying to say is if your car regularly gets up to around 230 degrees, but starts to cool back down when the fan comes on, then everything is probably working normally. If it gets to 240 or higher, or starts boiling over into the surge tank, then you definitely do have an overheating problem. I've got a Superrammed 350 in mine now with the factory dual fan setup, and it doesn't cool good enough when the outside temp gets around 90 degrees or hotter. I got stuck in stop and go traffic when it was about 95 degrees outside, and you could hear the surge tank bubbling when I shut the car off. Runs perfectly cool on the freeway or anywhere I don't have to constantly stop and go. I picked up the infamous Ford Taurus 3.8 electric fan and plan on installing that this winter. Shouldn't have any cooling problems next summer! My stock TBI always seemed to run on the brink of overheating, but it never did boil over. You can buy the Hypertech or Jet brand low temp fan sensor. That'll kick your fans on sooner. Another thing I always did with my TBI was put a 180 degree thermostat in it every summer instead of the stock 195 stat. If fact, since you live in FL, you could probably run the 180 stat all year round without any issues. I always had to switch mine back to a 195 in the winter since it gets pretty damn cold here! In FL a 180 would provide enough heat to keep you comfy even in the winter.

 

Thanks for that reply!

My fan is actually set up to turn on when the car turns on. So my fan is not the issue. I already bought a thermostat for 180=D haha. So any other suggestions. Smoke comes out of my valve covers im pretty sure. But its for sure coming off my drivers side exhaust where that piece of metal is going up to my air filter. On the diagram above it says vac motor thats where the metal piece goes from my exhaust. Its a malleable metal but it broke off so now there is nothing there. Would I need this? I read up on it and it stops the cold air from running through and lets warm air in. Im assuming this is important but would it make my engine overheat? Or Why else would smoke be coming out of there?

 

Not sure if you fixed the vaccum leak yet but the first pic is a vaccum check valve, one end should be connected to manifold vaccum, another goes to the HVAC system and the other end goes to your cruise control. Having it disconnected would defently cause a large enough vaccum leak to cause it to run crappy, this isn't the reason its overheating tho....

 

On the drivers side looking at the top of the manifold there is a heat shield covering the top of the manifold ,then just above that is the steal air intake arm that extends out of the round unit over the TBI /carburetor (air filter).and then it attaches to a flex hose to the front of the car were it gets its air for the car. Ok this is what I beleave your talking about = There is a flexible aluminum tube about 2in. in diameter coming of of the heat shield above the manifold going up in to the bottom of the steal arm that is part of the air intake system.I call it a "stove pipe" and it dose transfer heat from the manifold to the tbi/carb.and that helps the car warm up. There is a flapper in the steal intake that opens and closes so the car will also get cold air.You don't need the stove pipe to run the car and it will have "no" effect on over heating. If you live in a state that visually inspects the engine bay while doing the smog test than you "will" need the stove pipe.(along with any pieces/hoses that came with the car stock.)
By the way the reason we,Pat Hall, and my self mentioned the "what is your temperature gage reading,when its over heating,"or dose it clime towards the red zone.Evin with a 180* thermostat and a constant fan it can reach the 220*/230*mark at times.Also did you get a chance to check under the air filter on the TBI the ports for vacuum hose connections.If all the vacuum hoses are connected to the TBI then follow each hose the best you can to their destination and see if they are securely connected.If you cant see the hose connections on the TBI because of the air cleaner you might be able to count the vacuum hoses coming from under and give each one a very genital pull to make sure each one is connected. Use the diagram I sent of the routing. The hoses are correct on it in and were you see them on the diagram. If you cant see/touch/count the hoses will need to remove it the air cleaner assembly. Checking the TBI vacuum hoses "IS VERY IMPORTANT" IMO,it should be one of the first things to do.

 

No I think I know exactly what it is now. I just need to replace my valve cover gaskets because I took my valve covers off a couple times and never replaced them (because they looked new) But apparently you need to replace them when you take off your valve covers or so I heard. But yeah their was oil all over my spark plugs on the drivers side. So im going to start with the VCG then if they don't fix it ill take a look at my pistons and see if the rings are on right and I guess while I'm in there ill take a look and see if I blown a gasket or have a leaky one.

Im assuming its overheating because of these reasons.

My PCV valve hose had a hole in it.
The check valve hose was dry rotted and the other plastic piece that was on the top was burned.

I fixed all that though.
valve cover gaskets are on my list of things to buy.
Right now taking my exhaust manifolds off ( just bought headers they arrived today.. pure happiness cant wait to install them) I think my passenger side manifold is messed up so there could be a problem.

Piston rings/head gasket
I miss anything?

 

Intake manifold gasket. For some reason Chevy use a gasket that is prone to failure.I had to replace mine in order to pass CA smog. I'm glade you fixed some of the parts and found your smoking manifold problem. A little dripping oil will definitely do it. I see were the PCV valve has been mentioned in this thread. The info. that has been entered in this thread was intended for you but I can see were this would help any one searching for vacuum leaks. So I hope you do not mind my entering a link about how a PCV system works and why it is so important.



How a PCV Crankcase ventilation system works =
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crankca...ilation_system
Why is the PCV system is so important =
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5063486...hers-work.html

 

Just keep in mind if your pulling the heads off to check the piston rings it will be way easier to have the engine out of the car on a stand, not really following your logic tho, from what you described u have a vaccum leak that needs addressing and a problem somwhere in your cooling system.. If you replace the valve cover gaskets properly you will resolve only one thing, an oil leak, provided they were leaking (which they probably are considering you didnt replace em before). A vaccum leak is a bit of a stretch as far as an overheating problem is concerned. Have you pressure tested your cooling system yet? Does it hold pressure?

 

Doesn't the radiator cap regulate pressure on the hole system.I understand the symptoms concerning the cap and should be checked,but $6.00 for a simple cap to eliminate it as a issue. Pressure testing kit dose come with a radiator cap tester, if you dont have one and the cars not up on jacks call around and a shop will probably be able to test both.

Congratulations on the headers.

 

Yeah, and just to reiterate what was said above, that heat stove and flexible metal tubing are really completely irrelevant as far as how the car functions. I had mine removed for years, and even when it was around 0 degrees outside, the car still started up great and warmed up pretty quick. So yeah, you won't miss that stupid heat stove when your headers go on! There is one vacuum hose that goes from the front of the TBI unit up to that flapper valve on the air cleaner. You can either just leave the vacuum line connected, or remove the line and put a rubber vacuum plug on the port at the TBI. If you got your fan rigged to where it's running all the time and you're still overheating, there obviously has to be a problem somewhere in your cooling system. If your radiator cap is good and your hoses get pressurized once the car is warmed up, then you probably either have a clogged radiator or your water pump is going south.

 

You can test for a restricted radiator by performing the following test. This is also a test for the T-stat itself. Watch the upper and lower hoses as the engine warms to normal operating temp. You should feel the upper hose surge slightly in pressure and heat. This is the thermostat opening.

If you don't feel a noticable surge in temp and pressure in the upper hose, you likely have a faulty T-stat. As the thermostat opens, passing coolant into the radiator, watch the lower hose. You should feel it warm up. Watch for the lower hose to collapse. The hose may have a spring in it to prevent it from collapsing but if it sucks tight against the spring, or if it doesn't warm up as the T-stat opens, you likely have a restricted radiator.

I have never seen a water pump cause overheating on a domestic engine. They leak but they don't stop pumping fluid. The impeller has to deteriorate or come loose from the shaft for that to happen and I've just never seen it on a domestic engine.

 

I agree ASE, I've actually never seen an overheating problem on a domestic engine either due to the water pump. Even though it's an extremely remote possibility, I just figured it wouldn't hurt to mention it anyways. You're right in the fact that the impeller would have to completely disintegrate to cause overheating. 99% of the time with water pumps it's the bearing that goes bad, then they start leaking out the weephole, not to mention they get damn noisy when that bearing goes south.

 

I think the vacuum line discussion is mixing and matching two different systems. In the first pic he posted that is clearly the vacuum line system for the HVAC controls. It's supposed to be a big vacumm line into the "conical" end of the check valve, then it goes into a T fitting on the other side of the check valve after passing through a short piece of vacuum line. One side of the T goes to the vacuum reservoir ball (the "black orb of death" in the driver's side fender) and the other side of the T goes ultimately up under the dash to run the HVAC control system). These vacuum lines are NOT shown on the vacuum line sticker under the hood, by the way, since they are not running an emssions device.

The evaporative emissions system )cylinderical charcoal cansiter in the front/driver's side of the engine bay) is totally separate system with it's own ports. But these systems ARE shown on the vacuum line sticker under the hood.

Vapors escaping from the line between the valve cover and air cleaner housing..... classic symptoms of an inoperative or manfunctioning PCV system. Something is wrong with the PCV valve or the line that attaches it to the throttle body. If the PCV system isn't working those vapors drift out of that line. That line is SUPPOSED to supply fresh air INTO the engine. But if the PCV system isn't sucking the dirty vapors out of the other valve cover like it's supposed to, that line becomes the exit point for them by default. I.e. the system backs up and the vaports come out where fresh air is supposed to go in.

 

Thank you for that awesome informative answer. How can I correct this issue. Im going to buy new pcv valves today. Also I have two PCV valves, someone mentioned one going to the front of my intake which I have (that had a huge hole in the hose but fixed it) and a PCV valve on the right side of my engine with no hoses to anywhere but it was said to go to a vacuum on the back of my motor. I cant find this.

 

The passenger side valve cover has no PCV valve- just a breather tube that SHOULD be going between a grommet in the valve cover and a fitting on the spacer ring above the TB (at the rear of that ring, if memory serves).

In a stock TBI application this breather hose is smaller than the PCV valve side and, therefore, uses a different valve cover grommet (although the hole in the valve cover is exactly the same size). It's possible a previous owner monkeyed with the system and lost the original breather line grommet. The next usual thing that happens is they install whatever grommet happens to be laying around- usually a PCV grommet- so they shove it in and stick a PCV valve into it, attached to nothing. Won't really hurt anything, but it's not how the factory did it and it also explains the "two PCV valve" thing that you're seeing.