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Old 08-19-2011, 09:09 AM   #1
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Vacuum Leak

Hello everyone.

I know I have a vacuum leak because I can hear it. And I know that it is a common problem with these cars. I have read about so many threads that talk about vacuum leaks in Boxsters.

I looked all over the top of the engine, but I could not find it.

Is there a common problem area for vacuum leaks. What hoses should I look at specifically? Any pics would help.

I sprayed WD40 around to try to find the leak. I could not pinpoint the location, but I temporarily stopped the leak with it. That was months ago and now the leak is back. I can hear it again.

I am hoping the leak is hidden somewhere on the Intake hose because I am actually getting a new AFE Intake Hose with the AFE Performance Intake soon and I am hoping that it fixes the problem at the same time.

Thanks

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Old 08-19-2011, 12:28 PM   #2
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I've had a couple vacuum leaks. One of the most likely is the oil fill tube, either where the 2 sections couple together near the throttle body, or in the accordian section near the rear bulkhead.

The best way to pinpoint the source is to take it to a shop/garage that has a smoke testing maching. It slightly pressurizes the intake system with some non-toxic smoke. The mechanic found I had a leak on my brake booster line.

If you have a Tiptronic the coolant control valve can make a vacuum leak. There are a bunch of places. That's why the smoke test is so good. The foreign car garage I went to only charged me $75 to do the test.
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Old 08-26-2011, 11:08 AM   #3
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Yeah I know about the smoke machine. I also know that the Porsche dealer charges $145 to use it and MIDAS charges $104.50 to use it in my area. That is ridiculous. I have seen smoke machines that you can buy for $100. They charge too much for the 5-10 min service.

So I thought of other methods:

How to make a $5 Smoke Machine?

Smoke Bombs: I looked for smoke bombs during July 4th weekend, but could not find any. They have become either rare or illegal.

Scent Sticks: My next option to is look for a bunch of scent sticks since they give off lots of smoke and stick them in the side air vent with foil wrapped around them so my car does not get any burns. These are also hard to find. I have no idea where to buy them from.
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Old 08-26-2011, 12:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ProjectM96
Yeah I know about the smoke machine. I also know that the Porsche dealer charges $145 to use it and MIDAS charges $104.50 to use it in my area. That is ridiculous. I have seen smoke machines that you can buy for $100. They charge too much for the 5-10 min service.

So I thought of other methods:

How to make a $5 Smoke Machine?

Smoke Bombs: I looked for smoke bombs during July 4th weekend, but could not find any. They have become either rare or illegal.

Scent Sticks: My next option to is look for a bunch of scent sticks since they give off lots of smoke and stick them in the side air vent with foil wrapped around them so my car does not get any burns. These are also hard to find. I have no idea where to buy them from.

To be honest, I had trouble stopping laughing after reading your post. Sorry, but it's true.

I agree with you that a smoke machine analysis is highway robbery, but please, anything that you burn inside of your engine to create smoke is not good. It will only deposit all kinds of soot and crud in the intake.

I haven't tried it, but what about slightly pressurizing the intake, and I mean very slightly, spraying soapy water around the connections and looking for bubbles which will show the leak?

Or, if you can hear the leak, use a section of flexible tubing as a stethoscope to hunt down the leak. Even the slightest leak will be pretty loud.
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Old 08-26-2011, 01:35 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by san rensho
To be honest, I had trouble stopping laughing after reading your post. Sorry, but it's true.

I agree with you that a smoke machine analysis is highway robbery, but please, anything that you burn inside of your engine to create smoke is not good. It will only deposit all kinds of soot and crud in the intake.

I haven't tried it, but what about slightly pressurizing the intake, and I mean very slightly, spraying soapy water around the connections and looking for bubbles which will show the leak?

Or, if you can hear the leak, use a section of flexible tubing as a stethoscope to hunt down the leak. Even the slightest leak will be pretty loud.
Yeah I tend to come up with the cheapest and most ghetto repairs. I will definitely try that soap idea. As for the smoke bomb and scent sticks, I am pretty sure they are harmless. If kids are allowed to breath it in, it must be safe for an engine to breath in for a couple of minutes.

Instead of paying $100+ to fix my inside door handle, which does not close back and leaves window open a bit, I used Velcro. The 3M Velcro holds the handle shut so that the window goes all the way back up. And it cost me $2 at Arts & Crafts Store.

Instead of buying $35 bumper plugs to plug up the license plate holes in bumper, I would go to arts & crafts store and buy the same thing for $2. -Only works if your car is black because they only sell black plastic plugs/caps.
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Last edited by ProjectM96; 08-26-2011 at 01:47 PM.
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Old 10-11-2013, 03:33 PM   #6
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I had the same problem with my drivers side door. I took off the door panel and found out that there is a spring that pulls the door handle back after you open the door.
The spring was kind of odd looking in that it had a long straight part at each end and it hooked the hooks then attached to the handle in these plastic wholes that were white if I remember right.
Anyways I went to Lowes and picked up a long piece of pretty stiff spring...(you will want to get the stiffer of the springs) for like 2 bucks and then I held the spring up to where the broken one had went and cut the new spring to fit each whole and then bent the ends of the spring to make the hooks to fit into the wholes and it was as good as new!
I did this about a year and a half ago and have so far had no issues with the replacement spring.
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Old 10-12-2013, 03:40 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by 1ofthefew View Post
I had the same problem with my drivers side door. I took off the door panel and found out that there is a spring that pulls the door handle back after you open the door.
The spring was kind of odd looking in that it had a long straight part at each end and it hooked the hooks then attached to the handle in these plastic wholes that were white if I remember right.
Anyways I went to Lowes and picked up a long piece of pretty stiff spring...(you will want to get the stiffer of the springs) for like 2 bucks and then I held the spring up to where the broken one had went and cut the new spring to fit each whole and then bent the ends of the spring to make the hooks to fit into the wholes and it was as good as new!
I did this about a year and a half ago and have so far had no issues with the replacement spring.
thanks for the tip, I'll add it to my list of to-do's!
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Old 10-14-2013, 09:31 PM   #8
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Spring can be found at Pelican Parts for $4.75.
Part #: 999-522-015-00-OEM

I have the same problem, solved even cheaper than Velcro by wedging a piece of paper behind the door handle.
Only thing that is stopping me from taking off the door panel is that I have to disconnect the battery to prevent the door airbag to blow up in my face. Disconnecting the battery will make it necessary to get the code for the radio, everything becomes a project.
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Old 10-15-2013, 05:48 AM   #9
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Try - Porsche Resetting Radio Codes

You have to download some Java components to get it to run. i think you also need the radio's serial number. Press and hold one of the buttons to display it

I had same reservation about opening my door panel and disconnecting battery
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Old 05-15-2015, 07:38 PM   #10
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Has anyone used a smoke machine to find an oil leak?

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