My car went to the shop on Friday. Mystery with the starter is solved. Despite the starter being a relatively new TCI high torque unit, it was fried. I opted to go back with a new Delco vs. pulling the starter and having it rebuilt. New Delco unit was just a little more expensive than buying a new solenoid for the TCI unit. I did not want to wait. I hope I do not have the hot starter problem later on.

Starter problem fixed, but car still runs like crap. My hodge podge repair of the vacuum system did nothing. Headlights still will not open. Car obviously has a bad vacuum leak. As of lunchtime, the shop had not yet found the vacuum leak. Who knows?????

I guess we are in troubleshooting mode. I am stumped.

 

Dang .... I hate vacuume leaks...They suck :D

Sorry I had to say that...Hope you get it working soon. :cheers:

 

I took the advice of another forum member and built a vacuum pump out of an old bicycle pump. Just reverse the one way check valve. This way you can test with the engine off and hear any and all leaks. :chevy

 

Hudman, I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I never have understood what is about this C3 vacuum systems that is the big mystery, especially to a line mechanic who sees cars all day long....to a new owner, ok, maybe a bit mystifying..but in fact it's really simple to diagnose and repair...just nothing there, seriously....
pull the main large vacuum hoses, yes, maybe two of them....to the front headlights, plug one, and see you have vacuum at the other one...should be same as engine ~15 ...if not, it's in the system somewhere, a culprit I found on my '72 was the vacuum canister under the driver's fender/brakes....it was cracked from metal fatigue....no vacuum storage, and large leak caused the two main large vacuum lines to the headlights, and the wiper door to not have much suck to them....
all I did was tee off the main lines, when the trouble was found, as that canister is NLA....so that's it mainly,...the two 'witches hat' seals on the canisters is all I ever repaired up front...pain in the butt, but they were fairly simple, really....to check operation just take all hoses off them and take a good suck line from one side of canister to the other....light go up and down with a snap??? everything is fine with light, if not, you got a bad witches hat or canister, maybe something mechanical, but that mechanism is pretty reliable so I doubt it....
now the vacuun controll relay works really easy....all it does is use another vacuum signal line to change the hoses around to decide wether the lights go up or down....that's it...just a vacuum version of an old electrical relay...no mystery really....SO when you turn the lights on and off, does that small controll vacuum hose get and release vacuum??? should go to full manifold vac readings, again ~15.....if not, you got a controll problem....and needs fixing...
easy way to diagnose the relays,and lights all at once, assuming you have vacuum in the LARGE lines is to run another temporary line fron engine manifold vacuum to the small input of the vacuum relays, later sharks have one, early sharks have two...one per light...stupid I know....so anyway, see that the lights go up and down....if not, you got a controll problem or bad relay....

GENE

 

Thanks Gene-

My mechanic (who is a vette specialist-there were 8 at his shop today) seems to be chasing other gremlins. I keep telling him that it is a vacuum leak, but they do not seem to be focusing on it. Tomorrow is d-day. I am going by there and pushing the vacuum issue.

In my mind, car runs like crap like a vacuum leak, and the lights do not go up and down anymore. Sounds like a vacuum leak to me.

Who knows???

 

I agree...I went with a shop vac and long garden hose to be far from vacuum noise. Still couldn't hear any vac leak. Until I felt around the front rod seal...had such a big hole it couldn't hiss ! ! Parts coming from Zip.. :smash: