I switched to carb and in an effort to clean up the engine bay. I wanted to remove my cruise since it is no longer hooked up and is just taking up space. I took off the vaccum lines and the cruise cable attached to cruise mechanism next to the radiator. I also disconnected the line that runs down along the fender to the "plastic ball" mounted directly under where the evaporator canister was.

I then read that the accumulator ( plastic ball) is used for brake vaccum and HVAC controls. Do I need to have this functional ? When I did a search I only could find info on this topic for cars other than carb.

 

Yes, you need the ball hooked up. I'd connect the vacuum lines you disconnected to each other and that should do it right, unless someone on here has a better idea. The key is to have all the vacuum lines hooked together otherwise you'll create a massive leak which will cause all sorts of problems.

 

I just plugged the vac lines. Is there a reason why they should be connected together or is that just another way to seal them?

 

IF they are plugged and not connected to the intake, you risk cutting off the vacuum. THe circle ball thing is a vacuum cannister, it stores vacuum for accessories like brakes, cruise, HVAC etc. If you run less than 16" of vaccum when you drive, your power brakes won't work right.

My motor only makes 15" at idle, but almost 21 when driving around with the RPM"s up, so without the cannister to hold the "extra" vaccum the car makes, my brakes wouldn't ever work right. It's wierd, I know, but thats how it works.

 

The vacuum canister (Orb of Power) doesn't store vacuum for brakes, that is stored in the brake booster. It supplies vac for HVAC and cruise only.

My Orb wasn't hooked up for years until I got around to fixing my HVAC. So it was stuck on defrost, but the brakes worked fine.

Edit: Base91 - you definitely need the large vac hose hooked up to the brake booster from the intake!

 

Ok, I thought it helped all parts of the vacuum system, didn't know it was just the HVAC and cruise. Good to know though!