Oops...A Newbie with a serious secondary Vacuum Leak

[CANUCK]

Hello Guys,

I am a 'newbie' in great need of some help...

I took delivery of #438 Admiral Blue 1995 ZR-1 over a month ago. Between really crapy weather and moving into a new home my time in the pilot seat has been very limited.

The car is GOING to be great but right now it is 'ill'. I have a very serious secondary vacuum leak. In my make shift garage with dangling lights and an old kitchen table my Z went under the 'knife'!! I was able to pull the plenum with EXCELLENT advice from the registry. I was also able to find the leak fairly quickly.

The leak is at the output side of the reservoir tank. At the rubber 'boot' on top of the tank a 3 way male connector is attached. 2 of the connection points were EXTREMELY loose and would not hold vacuum. Under closer inspection it was quite evident this condition likely existed for some time as these points had quite a residue build up from air leaking past. I suspect the original owner was unaware!?!

Since it is impossible to effectively clamp these, I decided to try 3M (yellow) weatherstripping to get a seal. On first test it worked. I decided to let is sit for a few days and retest again before putting the plenum on...it FAILED. So instead of being cheap and a hack I decided to do it right and order some replacement parts.

I found a place called White Racing that sells kits. Has anyone had experience with their products as I suspect GM would not stock these vacuum lines and connectors anymore?

My apology for getting long winded here but I am in 'virgin' territory and I hope this makes sense. Now the next BIG question: The solenoid which has a line in and a line out. I put a vacuum on the line in and it holds as expected. The solenoid defaults in the off position so the valve should be closed; hence, a seal?? Now if I put a vacuum on the output side (isolating the solenoid - reverse direction toward the input) a vacuum does not hold. I expected this as in the off position I would think the circuit downstream of the solenoid would need to dump the vacuum closing the actuators??? I notice a foam filter on the bottom of the solenoid switch. Am I correct or is my solenoid switch 'pooched' also? Or is there another way to test it? If it may need to be replaced I see from previous form discussions, jeffvette mentioned it is a stcoked GM part so I'll check with a dealer up here.

Anyway, if anyone has some ideas or advice for me it would greatly be appreciated as I have yet to experience the perma smile of my Z's 405 HP. I sure would like to get it on the road before the snow flies!!

Many thanks,
Doug McMillan

[PhillipsLT5]

Kurt will have the parts

[Aurora40]

Kurt (White Racing) is where I bought my 2ndary vacuum system too. He's a well-known vendor of ZR-1 parts.

As for the solenoid question, I'm not sure what ports you are referring to. However, with the car off, look for the line that comes from the vacuum reservoir. That part should hold a vacuum on the solenoid. None of the other stuff probably will.

GM has plenty of solenoids on hand. # 01997222

[CANUCK]

Thanks Guys!!

Ordered my parts from Kurt (White Racing) yesterday, great guy, the parts should be here today. I ordered the complete hose kit and also I ordered a solenoid switch from him too.

With any luck I'll have the car back together this weekend

Doug

[CANUCK]

Well holy #@%!...IT WORKS!!

Awesome... got a chance to put all back together yesterday and took it for a run...PERMA SMILE IS HERE!!

I didn't romp on it as I have to tighten the C Beam bolts (shifter moving up under hard accel) but under controlled acceleration (kinda) completely different car...SWEET!!

Thanks to all!!
Doug

[Jerry#397]

Doug,

Order some "Beam Plates" from Bill B. at Z-51 Performance and be sure to torque the bolts to the factory specs. The Beam Plates are the best "bang for the buck" you can buy. Look on the home page on the right side for Z51 Performance and click on the link.

Thanks,
Jerry

[CANUCK]

Thanks Jerry, I took your original advice

I purchased a set and they arrived a couple of weeks ago. I am going to tackle the installation next week. I don't have a hoist but I am able to rent a do-it-yourself bay with a hoist so cross my fingers should be fun

Take care,
Doug