Fastwowan what do you think? Vacuum gauge to mount on intake.

[siteunseen]

I found this on walmart.com for $20 bucks. I'm going to get one. I don't care about radios just want some gauges to look at.

[FastWoman]

Well, you can try it! Two questions come to mind: (1) Will it hold up with the heat and moisture under the hood? (2) Is there some way to make a bracket to mount the thing? Worst case scenario is that it gets rusty and ugly or that it leaks, in which case you can just remove it.

FAIW, if my cheapo Chinese pressure gauge can hold up to the under-hood environment (which it seems to be doing, even living outdoors), I suspect your vac gauge will too.

Edited September 14, 2011 by FastWoman

[siteunseen]

I was going to try and get the hose through the firewall and let it come up where the stereo hole is. May have to buy a longer piece of vacuum hose though. I found a tech page from AtlanticZ for trouble shooting with a vacuum gauge. http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/vacuum/ when I get the car running right I would put it under the hood somehow and put in a cd player. I never knew vacuum was so important. I did your "yogurt cup test" with the long piece of fuel line from the FP gauge on the wiper blade idea from Z Train. When I blew, the air leak parted my hair. In my haste to adjust the valves while hot I had put the valve cover gasket on upside down and had a leak above #1 spark plug. Flipped it over and kicked myself. I'm glad I haven't driven it other than test runs around the neighborhood.

Edited September 14, 2011 by siteunseen

[siteunseen]

Also, fixing the leak lowered my already poor fuel pressure. The adjustable FPR with bypass port is somewhere in the postal system. Can't wait to get it put on.

[siteunseen]

Well after actually reading, the vacuum test are mostly done at idle. So maybe it doesn't need to be in the cockpit with me.

[FastWoman]

The yogurt cup test is a great way to find leaks, for sure! So is your intake tight now? Driving down the fuel pressure more is a good thing, because it means your vacuum is stronger and your engine is running better. For every 2 in Hg of vacuum, you'll see about a 1 psi drop in fuel pressure. If it helps you to come to terms with the fuel pressure drop, you can just think of your stronger engine vacuum drawing fuel out the ends of the injectors a bit harder.

I didn't know you were talking about having the vacuum gauge in the cabin. If you want to go that route, why not get a vaccum/boost gauge like this one?

http://www.jegs.com/i/Auto+Meter/105/3384/10002/-1

If your clock isn't working, maybe you could mount it there. I don't KNOW that it's the right size, so you'll need to measure.

I've got my fingers crossed that the new FPR will solve your problems!

[siteunseen]

I have good news and bad. The new FPR came today and that was one of the most difficult parts I've had to replace. But the pressure is bouncing between 36 & 40psi. That's the good news. It will not hold the pressure after I turn off the ignition/ fuel pump. So it doesn't want to restart as it did before which is the bad news. I think I'm headed in the right direction just may have missed some turns or some turns have missed me. Boy oh boy was that a tough part replacement. My ceramic header also came in today so I'm about to be elbow deep in this engine and it probably won't be running for awhile but I'll keep reading this forum. It's the highlight of my day. I live a pretty boring life! "Work, work , work" Mell Brooks from Blazing Saddles.

[FastWoman]

OK, here's what you do about fuel pressure: Rig yourself a primer switch. Find the BAT+ wire that runs to the memory circuit on your radio (I'm guessing you have a digital stereo with a memory circuit.) Branch off of the radio side of that wire, so that you have +12V fused power. Run that to a push button. You want a normally open (NO) pushbutton, available at your local Radio Shack. Then run a wire from the other terminal on your pushbutton to the + side of your fuel pump relay. When you push the button, your fuel pump will pump. Press that button, and hold it for several seconds before turning your key to start the motor. That will prime the fuel rail and bring your pressure up for easy starting.

[cygnusx1]

Replace the little check valve that is threaded into the outlet of the factory fuel pump. Get the boost/vacuum gauge linked above. Most of the VDO ones will require the VDO turbing kit. The tube is a bout as thin as spaghetti and is easy to route to the dash. Then you can velcro the tiny gauge on the dash where it meets the A-pillar. Cake install. The gauge you found at Walmurt is for your toolbox, not your engine bay.

I like the SunPro gauges....cheap and little. (caution this has been back ordered for months now, and they keep pushing the dates out)

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUN-CP8213/

Edited September 15, 2011 by cygnusx1

[FastWoman]

Dave, I think the problem is that his new FPR doesn't hold pressure, as apparently some FPRs aren't designed to do.

[siteunseen]

Push button primer? That's for weed whackers! Just teasing. That's a great idea but I have been reading about a Fuel Lab FPR that claims it will keep between 20 & 25psi for hot engine start up. I may end up getting one of those from Santa Claus, they're expensive, but I may try that prime button for now. No stereo but I could come off the cig lighter fuse. And I will be leaving my vacuum test gauge in the drawer of my tool box with all the other test lights and such I've acquired. That drawers getting full. Thanks again for your help FastWoman and Dave C. from Putnam New York. That header is soooo fine I don't want to put it under the hood. Kind of like that Kohler commercial where they bring a faucet to their builder and say "I want to build a house around this". Well I want to build my car around this header.