A vacuum leak in the engine can cause more problems than you might think. Speed Auto Repair can replace the leaking vacuum hose in your engine. The reason why you have vacuum hoses in the engine is so that the vacuum pressure created in the combustion chamber can be routed to various components to provide a power source. The following are signs that you have a vacuum leak.
Performance Trouble
One thing that happens when the vacuum hose starts to leak is the engine filled with air. Consequently, this excess air creates a lean fuel mixture in the combustion chamber and your engine starts to have performance problems. You will notice that the engine and your vehicle’s acceleration will lag.
Reduced Fuel Economy
Any time the engine struggles to run there is a reduction in the fuel economy that a vehicle gets. This is because the engine uses more fuel even though it is performing poorly. Consequently, a vacuum leak can indirectly affect the gas mileage that your car gets because of the poor engine performance.
High or Sporadic RPMs
Another problem with the engine performance that occurs is that the vacuum leak can increase the RPMs significantly when the vacuum pressure escapes the leaking hose. You may also see the RPMs rising and lowering via the tachometer needle if the vacuum leak is one that is not steady.
Component Malfunction
As we mentioned in the introduction, some of your vehicle’s components are powered by or partially powered by engine vacuum pressure. One such component is the power steering pump. Consequently, you may start to have problems with the power steering system if you have a vacuum leak.
Suction or Hissing Sounds
Vacuum leaks are rarely silent. If you listen carefully, you may be able to hear sounds coming from your engine that are abnormal. Generally, the leaking vacuum hose will hiss or make a suction sound. The latter sounds a lot like the accessory hose on your home’s vacuum cleaner.
Check Engine Warning
Finally, the engine control module may decide to turn on the check engine light to alert you of a problem in the engine. In this case, it has received error codes from system sensors and it cannot resolve the issue. Consequently, the CEL will be on until the vacuum leak is repaired.
Call Speed Auto Repair in Alpharetta, GA, and Roswell, GA, today if you believe that your engine has a leaking vacuum hose that needs to be replaced.
