Your car’s engine compartment has a maze of hoses and tubes that connect various pieces to each other. If those hoses develop cracks, holes, or weak spots, you can develop a vacuum leak. Skiles Automotive Services wants to help you learn to recognize a vacuum leak so you can get it fixed as soon as possible.
You’ve Got Some Noticeable Performance Issues
When your car’s engine isn’t in optimal shape, it’s not going to operate at optimal levels. That means you’ll notice sluggishness, poor gas mileage, and engine knocks and misfiring. All of that is your indication that your car is not able to perform the way that it has in the past and that something is causing that problem. Figuring out what’s happening may involve looking at some other symptoms.
You’re Seeing Higher Tach Readings
If you’ve got a tachometer on your dashboard, you might be somewhat familiar with where the needle typically sits while you’re driving. When there’s a vacuum leak somewhere in the engine, you’re likely to see that needle at higher levels than in the past. You’ll probably also hear your engine revving at a higher RPM, especially at idle.
The Car Just Doesn’t Respond
What happens when you give the car a little bit more gas? What you expect to happen is that you’ll hear a response from the engine and your car will leap to respond. If that’s not what’s happening, it’s possible that you’re facing a vacuum leak somewhere. That hesitation and lack of response means that the engine doesn’t have what it needs to have in order to do its job.
You Can Hear a Sucking Sound
A no-fail sign of a vacuum leak is that you might just be able to hear it. Sometimes you can hear a vacuum leak in the passenger cabin while the car is idling, but not always. One surefire way to see if you can hear a vacuum leak is to park your car securely with the parking brake engaged and pop the hood. With the engine running, walk around the engine and listen carefully. If you hear a sucking sound, that’s your vacuum leak.
If you need help tracking down a vacuum leak, give us a call at Skiles Automotive Services in Bremen, IN. We can diagnose the problem and get that leak sealed back up again so your car is running perfectly again.
