Vacuum Pump Failure

traveler of california · 03-10-2009, 04:27 PM

My vacuum pump (located on driver's side firewall) will not stop running. I had
to pull a wire to get it to stop and am now considering my alternatives.

Any easy way to determine if I have a bad pump or simply a leak somewhere. If it is a leak, where should I check for that?

I think the pump is a Ford part.

Nick
Journey '01

RCtime · 03-10-2009, 05:04 PM

Pull the line off the pump and place your finger over the suction inlet.
It should stop running. Actually on mine I pulled the vacuum line off the heater valve and put mt finger over it and the pump stopped indicating I had an air leak .
Turned out it was that real short peice of tubing on the valve ahd split.
There are some excellent pictures of the common leak and of ther valve posted by SCVJeff. Do a search as a picture is worth well you know.

BugSlayer · 03-10-2009, 06:23 PM

I had the same problem and the same fix as RCTime. Initially I taped the cracked hose which worked in the short term. As I could not find the same hose I went to Home Depot and bought a package of small engine fuel line which worked fine and left me with a lot of spare hose. I keep it on the coach in case I run into another with the same problem! You should look at the pictures as the problem is likely not on your pump but on a small connector located on ther passenger side. Follow the green vacuum line and you will find it even though you cannot see it immediately. Simple fix! Good luck!

traveler of california · 03-10-2009, 07:04 PM

I'm not having any luck with the search as the system tells me there is a data base problem.

When I look at the pump am I to pull the line at the left? It looks as if there are 2 black tubes connected at that point.

Nick

RCtime · 03-10-2009, 08:30 PM

Traveler
Yeah I just tried to bring it up. I guess this new system still has a bit more to go to be fully functional.
I cant remeber what mine looks like at the pump. This for me was 6-8 months ago, so I hope you understand.
Go to the slightly smaller than a baseball device that is located on your left, looking in. It has that green line and a valve that opens and closes the hot warer going in to the heater. 4 water hoses attatched to it.
Follow that hose back to the pump.
The vacuum line at the bottom of this goes to a small plastic L. To this L there is a small hose problable not more the 5/8 to 3/4 in. long. that plugs into the very bottom of this round vacuum valve. this small hose has a reputation of splitting and leaking.
Oh lordy, going from memory here so bear with me.
Take a look at it and you can probably figure it out.
Hey guys--jump in here and help Traveler out, I hope I didnt confuse you too much ,Traveler but my motorhome is in storage so just cant run out and take a peek at it.

cbeierl · 03-10-2009, 08:36 PM

It's a little difficult to track down the thread with all of the picture and arrows, etc. until they get the search going (they're working on it), but many folks have found the vacuum leak at the end of the green vacuum line going into the heater/AC system. In the picture below the green line goes into a rubber elbow which has a short piece of bent metal tubing on the other end which is then connected via a short piece of black tubing to the bottom of the valve (or whatever it is). If that's were the leak is you may find that you have sufficient slack in the green tubing to connect the other end of the rubber elbow directly to the valve--if not you'll need to pick up a bit up replacement tubing. Windshield washer fluid host works well.

BugSlayer · 03-10-2009, 09:19 PM

The pic that cbeierl posted is just what you need. See the green vacuum line going into the small control valve. It is connected via a small rubber elbow (visible in the pic). There is a piece of hose between the control valve and the rubber elbow. That is the piece that failed on mine and I believe it is the piece that fails on most of the coaches? Pull it off and have a look. Dollars to doughnuts that you will find a crack in the hose you pull off. As I said, I fixed mine in the short term with electrical tape but it required replacement eventually. I found a package of small engine fuel line at Home Depot that worked very well. Good luck with yours!

cbeierl · 03-12-2009, 11:35 PM

The search function seems to be working now. Here's a link to one of the previous threads with a couple more pictures: http://www.irv2.com/forums/showthrea...vacuum+journey

(Note that embedded links to other threads won't work given the software transition, so you'll need to search for the content if you're interested.)

SCVJeff · 03-13-2009, 01:13 AM

This is the problem, and it may be on the backside where it cannot be easily seen. You don't need to replace that little hose, just remove the useless little elbow and plug it into the modulator direct.

NO1RAINH20 · 03-13-2009, 08:39 AM

SCVJeff IS ABSOLUTLEY CORRECT I HAVE COLLECTED A COFFEE CAN FULL OF THESE OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD

traveler of california · 03-13-2009, 12:32 PM

Update: Problem solved! Thank you to everyone that responded to my query, you saved me a bunch of time and lots of bucks. It turned out to be as suggested, a small piece of tubing about 1" long at the end of the green vacuum line.

The old one was cracked and fell off when I grabbed it. Went to the local Auto Zone and the clerk gave me a short piece of tubing which worked. Total cost of repair was zip! I am not very mechanical so I am very appreciative of your help. Even my wife was impressed with me.

Nick

RCtime · 03-13-2009, 06:35 PM

Great Traveler, glad you solved it. PS dont tell her you got the suggestions here. Just say you figured it out on your own and win some big points with her. You might get lucky.

Whaler · 03-13-2009, 08:08 PM

Why RCtime,you sneaky Devil,that was the best advice of all

traveler of california · 03-14-2009, 11:26 AM

Well, your earlier advice worked so I'll do just that.

Nick