Vacuum leak

WIKDWILLY

MEMBER
2002 ACURA TL
3.2L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
208,000 MILES

I used my vacuum gauge on the car listed above and it had a reading: 25 inches. What would cause it to be so high?
I was checking the MAP because my OBDII scanning tool came up with two DTC's. P0118 and P0108, after starting the car, after replacing the head gaskets. I wanted to make sure that everything was tightened, bolted, not leaking or came undone.
I put the vacuum gauge on and the reading showed 25 inches. I need to know what why and what caused it to be so high.

3 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Hi,

The actual vacuum reading is less important than how the engine runs and if the needle is steady on the gauge.

Normal engine vacuum is about 15-23 inches. So you are on the high end but this by itself is not concerning. If the gauge at idle is steady on 25 inches and the engine runs well, I would not worry about it. This could also be an issue with the gauge as well. If the gauge is a little off, then your reading may be a little higher.

Again, the important thing is how the engine runs and if the needle is steady. You can take a quick video if you like of the gauge running at idle and I will be happy to take a look.

Let me know what the gauge is doing and how the engine runs and we can go from there, if you can't get a video of the gauge. Thanks.

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Wednesday, May 29th, 2019 AT 5:58 PM

WIKDWILLY

MEMBER
13 POSTS

The car is surging, from 1,000 rpm's up to 2,500 rpm's then back down to the 1,000 rpm's, fluctuating. This is when the car is running in Park idle and Neutral but not in Drive. I drove it down the street for a test drive, came to a red light and when I drove on, it stalled, I had to pull over to get it started again, put it in neutral and it started surging. Made it back to my place. Connected the OBDII on and it gave two codes, P0118 and P0108. When I looked under the hood at the parts from where the codes read, I unplugged the connector from the sensor and found the two wire connector to the sensor (ECT) had broke off right at the plug. So I fixed the connector. I'm still having the MAP problem. Please help.

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Wednesday, May 29th, 2019 AT 7:58 PM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Okay. Was your vacuum gauge needle steady? Meaning did it go to 25 and stay there or did it jump around or even bounce at all?

Your ranging RPM may be related to the MAP DTC. Have you addressed that or is it still there?

Here is the diagram for this code. You need to go through and see if the MAP is giving the PCM incorrect information. If so, then your RPM will search and it will cause stalling.

The 25 in Hg may be because your RPM is a little high. So this is why we need to dig a little deeper than just what the number is. Keep in mind, all the MAP is telling you is whether your engine has the ability to seal from the throttle plate to the valves and create a negative pressure so that it pulls in air to mix with the fuel.

In summary, let's address the MAP issue and then see if the RPM ranging stops and then recheck your vacuum because if we fix those issues, I bet the vacuum will decrease a bit.

Let me know what you find and we can go from there. Thanks

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