Signs of a Vacuum Leak?

[BigBrakeFuelie]

I was just curious because I`ve seen this referred to a couple of times on here.For the seasoned mechanics out there what are some of the signs to look for that might be a symtom of a Vac Leak.
Thanks.:confused

 

[DDLS3]

A rough idle comes to mind as being the most prounced symtom.

 

[BigBrakeFuelie]

Will a vacuum leak cause a loss in horsepower?

 

[AKRAY4PLAY]

poor idle and poor vaporization of fuel are the major effects from a vacuum leak. generally vac leaks are small and annoying making adjustment of the idle mixture screws next to impossible. they will have a big effect on the throttle responce off idle, stalling, missing and hiccuping are the major symtoms. unless the vac leak is fairly large, it should not effect the upper rpm characteristics. if you have one, they only get worse with time, Brian

 

[Yoda]

Vacuum leaks are a real pita! If you are running your quadjet, they are known to s u c k the gasket, when this happens it idles terrible runs worse and has no power. And it only gets worse as the leak gets bigger

A quick check is to remove your air cleaner and take your hand and cover the carb opening, your car should want to die, if it maintains idle or even increase rpm when you do this test.. pull the carb and put a new gasket on it. You can also use WD40 to spray around the base of the carb, as this plugs the leak for a brief second or two you'll notice a change in idle smoothing out.

There are many previous threads on vacuum leaks.. try the seach function and put in vacuum or vacuum leaks.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride!

BudD