Topic: Will sea foam work to find an intake leak?

[GreenYoterKrawler]

If i pour seafoam into my brake booster vacuum on my 22r will i be able to see smoke coming out of my intake / vacuum leak? i cant really pinpoint the location even with already used 2 cans of carb cleaner. Any tips on how to find where its leaking?   

[superyota]

try soap and water in spray bottle and look for the bubbles

[81_yota]

i dont think sea foam would work i have use carb or brake clean or even a stetha scope to listen for the leak

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

both great ideas ill try em, thanks guys

[Rocksurfer]

i dont think sea foam would work i have use carb or brake clean or even a stetha scope to listen for the leak

FYI the vapor from brake cleaner on a hot surface can kill a man.

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

true but only if you got ignition, My plug wires are brand new and ppl have been using carb cleaner for years to chase down intake leaks

[OOPS]

true but only if you got ignition, My plug wires are brand new and ppl have been using carb cleaner for years to chase down intake leaks

Propane torch is better and if any smoke comes from the brake cleaner, it is bad, do not fool yourself.

[81_yota]

sincepeople like to think using brake clean or carb is bad cuz really if sprayed around intake it will ither rev a lil or rpm drop i have seen and done this for years or to be safe spend like 500.00 and get a smoke machine

[yjay]

sincepeople like to think using brake clean or carb is bad cuz really if sprayed around intake it will ither rev a lil or rpm drop i have seen and done this for years or to be safe spend like 500.00 and get a smoke machine

Brakleen in the red can (and maybe others) when heated creates phosgene gas. That's what was used in WWI trench warfare to attack the nervous system. It is also completely non flammable, at least the type sold where I live, so spraying it on a vacuum leak to listen for a rise in rpm will not work. Carb cleaner is a different story. Here is a good read for the brake cleaner. It can kill you or cause major harm.

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm

Seafoam would not work because a vacuum leak will be pulling air in, and therefore not smoke.

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

thx guys, and yes 81-yota thx for catching Carb cleaner, brake cleaner in the engine doesnt even sound like a good idea even if it wasnt extremely toxic when burned/heated. So i will use carb cleaner unless i can find some1 with a propane torch. Would it be ok to attach a thin straw to the end of the torch to get an exact location for the leak?

[Rocksurfer]

Just to clarify this for someone thinking about the propane torch, you just want the gas flowing DON'T LIGHT THE THING! 

[superyota]

 

[OOPS]

Just to clarify this for someone thinking about the propane torch, you just want the gas flowing DON'T LIGHT THE THING!  

I guess I should have stated that, sometimes I assume to much and that is a wrong thing to do. The first time I saw on air dryer instructions "do not use in the shower" I said to my wife, "really, are people that dumb".

[blackxlava]

id stick with carb cleaner anyday. we have a smoke machine at my shop and i can find almost ever vacuum leak faster with a can of carb cleaner. (and its cheaper!)
as far as brake clean. just no.

[81_yota]

just dont use acetylene

[79coyotefrg]

I guess I should have stated that, sometimes I assume to much and that is a wrong thing to do. The first time I saw on air dryer instructions "do not use in the shower" I said to my wife, "really, are people that dumb".

amazingly, yes.  people in general are THAT dumb. 

try soap and water in spray bottle and look for the bubbles

how exactly are you going to find vacuum leaks with soapy water

OOPS,  see what I mean

[79coyotefrg]

id stick with carb cleaner anyday. we have a smoke machine at my shop and i can find almost ever vacuum leak faster with a can of carb cleaner. (and its cheaper!)
as far as brake clean. just no.

here's a REALLY good rule  to follow.

CARB cleaner is for use on CARBS

BRAKE cleaner is for use on BRAKES

[81_yota]

all i gotta say is i know a ton of big time guys use carb cleaner to find vac leaks and intake leaks

[blackxlava]

guess i should have read that you already USED carb cleaner and cant find it still.

someother tricks Ive used is pinching off lines as close to the intake as possible, and listening for changes. also a good ol' ford wiggle test but on vaccum lines works sometimes too. and lastly, a hose or pipe used to listen around the intake and lines.

hope something here helps. smoke is an option, just expensive.

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

So i was just going to have a shop diagnose it to make sure it was the intake gasket. Buuutttt  I left for LA for a week, I come back and my intake leak is GONE??  turned my idle screw back out to normal, it was All the way in to keep my truck idling the leak was so bad. And now its suddenly gone after sitting for a week. It went from "I dont want to drive my POS" to "Did someone fix my %#@$ while i was gone?"  Any ideas on how this Horrible leak can just disappear? I live in rocklin, and i know it was pouring rain this last week. Is it possible that the humidity managed to swell up a gasket, stopping the leak? 

[Rocksurfer]

My carbed 80 did that to me, it would come and go, sometimes it would run great and other times it ran so bad I would want to drive it into a wall. I rebuilt the carb and found that the diaphram had rotted away inside and was causing it.

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

Which diaphragm rotted away? i rebuilt mine but think i left out the choke diaphram cuz my choke is riveted on. Could this be it? thats odd though because i was spraying carb cleaner on my intake gasket last week and it seemed the leak was in that general area

[Rocksurfer]

Sorry for not specifying which one, it was the accelerator pump diaphragm. The choke diaphragm can actually be eliminated completely and you should still run fine.

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

ill try to check my accel. pump tomorrow and report back. I went wheelin tonight and it started bogging out for a lil bit. it got really bad for about 15 mins. but then went away completely again. and my truck is running normal. Stuck plunger?

[Rocksurfer]

Could be the overflow when offroading due to the angles, try running a small tube from it so that it dumps outside the carb, usually into a container of some type. That will keep a Toyota carb from flooding. On the pump pull the vaccum line and if you can smell gas it is done.

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

yeah i need to do the overflow trick but thats not the problem. Last night i went wheelin again to see if it would come back, and Yes did it. for a while it was fine no leak or w/e, then after a lil roughness the major leak was back. was missing/boggin super bad until 5k, and after a while it got so bad that it would only idle. everytime i even touched the gas it would try to die, so kinda sounds like the Accel pump. but i started her up this morning and its not missing at all anymore. Im guessin its something thats affected by heat build-up if its not the plunger, like sticking float needle?

[Scuba]

Brakleen in the red can (and maybe others) when heated creates phosgene gas. That's what was used in WWI trench warfare to attack the nervous system. It is also completely non flammable, at least the type sold where I live, so spraying it on a vacuum leak to listen for a rise in rpm will not work. Carb cleaner is a different story. Here is a good read for the brake cleaner. It can kill you or cause major harm.

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm

Seafoam would not work because a vacuum leak will be pulling air in, and therefore not smoke.

id stick with carb cleaner anyday. we have a smoke machine at my shop and i can find almost ever vacuum leak faster with a can of carb cleaner. (and its cheaper!)
as far as brake clean. just no.

Brake cleaner isn't THAT bad. If you actually read the article it states "the active chemical in brake cleaner is tetrachloroethylene. When this chemical is exposed to excessive heat AND GAS ARGON, (WHICH IS USED IN MIG AND TIG WELDING PROCESSES) it produces phosgene (the deadly chemical that was used in WW1..).
Cliffnotes? Don't use brake cleaner on a surface before welding. Other than that, make sure to use brake cleaner in a well ventilated area.
 

EDIT: And yeah, just use some soapy water in a spray bottle. Works perfect.

[GreenYoterKrawler [OP]]

thanks for the clarification dude, im startin to think its not an intake leak anymore, but a carb internal.

Could be the overflow when offroading due to the angles, try running a small tube from it so that it dumps outside the carb, usually into a container of some type. That will keep a Toyota carb from flooding. On the pump pull the vaccum line and if you can smell gas it is done.

BTW thats the Auxilary accel pump, i dont hav any gas in that guy, could be my Accel pump though, the one with the metal lever on it

[OOPS]

Starting to sound to me like it is a vapor locking problem or for some reason the carb is heating up enough that the gas is boiling in the float bowl.