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workingonit · #33 11-18-2021, 11:37 AM

I formerly used carb or brake cleaner to spot check for vacuum leaks on my old cars and trucks, just spraying on suspected leaking connections. I could tell by sight or touch suspect hoses that were failing due to age. Everything was visible, and made from mostly quality rubber or plastic.

Now, there are too many hidden hoses, and the quality of rubber and plastic lines and fittings seems to have fallen. I think I've mentioned elsewhere that European plastics were particularly brittle and subject to deterioration, in my experience (starting with a nearly-new '59 Simca... my memory goes way back..., then on my '73 Volvo, a '75 Saab, and now my '01 X5...fan blades coming apart). I wouldn't trust spraying chemicals under the hood, for fear of worsening the situation.

A plus to using a smoke tester is that out-of-sight leaks can be found (not really possible if you can't see the spot to spray). I'm on board to get and use a smoke machine on the BMW, but it's just one more tool I've got to get to work on the truck. Always one more. It seems like I've loaned-out or lost many tools I've had to recently replace, or acquire new tools I never had to utilize before, just to work on my current vehicles. The wife thinks I don't need them, as she is so mechanically dis-inclined; and when I'm gone, she'll just throw the automotive tools away, I'm sure.

It's been a very long time since I willingly put a vehicle in a dealership or independent garage, but did the work myself (or utilized a friend, and his fully-stocked shop at his home, to repair problems). The wife doesn't remember the overcharging and add-ons that the dealership would bill for (when I was out of town, and we had no spare cars...I now try to have 2-3 spares... on hand). I do what I can, when I can, just to keep the fleet rolling, unappreciated.

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