Valve Cover ??? (does it have an empty vacuum nipple?)

[aveodude]

That was my mistake, it is on the throttle body. As for it being useless, I wouldn't say so. Great to get better economy out of the engine. Plus if you know how to read one you can detect problems with the engine. Do your homework before bashing ideas.

You are absolutely right. I know nothing about cars at all. My mistake oh wise one.

[ontarian_frog]

That was my mistake, it is on the throttle body. As for it being useless, I wouldn't say so. Great to get better economy out of the engine. Plus if you know how to read one you can detect problems with the engine. Do your homework before bashing ideas.

You are absolutely right. I know nothing about cars at all. My mistake oh wise one.

Where did I say you know nothing about cars? In fact you have given great advice to others in this forum, I respect that. Insulting others, without knowing the true fundamentals of their ideas is a little shallow.

[aveodude]

[quote=ontarian_frog]

That was my mistake, it is on the throttle body. As for it being useless, I wouldn't say so. Great to get better economy out of the engine. Plus if you know how to read one you can detect problems with the engine. Do your homework before bashing ideas.

You are absolutely right. I know nothing about cars at all. My mistake oh wise one.

Where did I say you know nothing about cars? In fact you have given great advice to others in this forum, I respect that. Insulting others, without knowing the true fundamentals of their ideas is a little shallow.[/quote:2tfszty2]
So then please tell me how it gets you better economy? All you need to know is that the heavier your foot, the more gas it will use and that when you coast to a stop, your injectors stop pulsing.

And yes, if you know what you are doing, they can help in figuring out engine problems but, 99% of the time, a vac leak will be seen by the computer and throw a CEL. And that 1% it doesnt know there is a vac leak, you will idle like crap and it will be harder to use the brakes making it obvious what the problem is.

So back to my original statement, they are pretty pointless. If it were carb'd, I could understand.

And FWIW, I never insulted you. I just called it rice and said it was pointless.

[ontarian_frog]

So then please tell me how it gets you better economy? All you need to know is that the heavier your foot, the more gas it will use and that when you coast to a stop, your injectors stop pulsing.

And yes, if you know what you are doing, they can help in figuring out engine problems but, 99% of the time, a vac leak will be seen by the computer and throw a CEL. And that 1% it doesnt know there is a vac leak, you will idle like crap and it will be harder to use the brakes making it obvious what the problem is.

So back to my original statement, they are pretty pointless. If it were carb'd, I could understand.

And FWIW, I never insulted you. I just called it rice and said it was pointless.

Perhaps before continuing to argue your point, find out what a vacuum gauge can actually tell you. No it doesn't give you better fuel economy, it's a tool to get better economy. Sure it's not a Scangauge, but for the price you can't beat it.

It can tell you a lot of things from the engine, read more at:

http://autospeed.com/cms/A_2393/article.html

In addition to that article, I can monitor the operation of the EGR valve, which I plan to mod at a later date for increased economy.

[aveodude]

coming from actually working on cars, here is an easy way to tell all that crap without spending money on a gauge

Poor Rings or Oil at Idle - blue smoke coming out of exhaust. Idle is different than normal
Poor Rings or Oil when Throttle Snapped Open and Closed - Blue smoke coming out of the exhaust
The piston ring ones are the easiest ones. it is hard not to notice blue smoke coming from the exhaust. And when that is the case, it does not matter if they are bad at idle or bad when cruising because either way, they will need to be replaced
Sticky Valve - Car sounds like it is cammed at idle. Idle is like ****
Burnt Valve - Car is struggling to idle. sounds like crap at idle. compression test find
Leaky Valve - sounds like a misfire. notice during compression test
Loose Valve Guides - car idles like crap. find during compression test.
Weak Valve Springs - car struggles in higher RPMs. valve float is noticed
All of these clyinder head ones are in common. They will sound terrible at idle from the head/valve cover area. Once you isolate that it is the head, it will have to come off anyways. once it is open, you will find all but the weak springs but that one is a fairly easy diagnosis by itself
Leaky Intake System - Lack of power brakes. Crap idle. struggling to stay idle\
Clogged PCV or Intake Manifold Leaks - ****ty erratic idle.
a terrible idle will lead you to this before the loss of power assisted brakes would. once you know that your brakes are damn hard to push in, you know its a vac leak. from there you start looking at hoses then check the PCV. Then start checking gaskets and such.
Leaky Head Gasket Between Cylinders - coolant is coming out of the block. You car will be steaming
Blocked Exhaust - that one is too obvious
These 2 are really blatantly obvious

When one of these go wrong, the readings wont go exactly what is says in that article so you will be guessing at that point anyways. All it will tell you is that something is wrong with you car but by the time you look at the gauge, chances are you are just confirming what you are already thinking. You will need to do actual mechanic work to try to find the problem. No magic gauge, except a scan tool if its throwing codes, will tell you the exact problem. Just the area of the problem. And even a scan gauge tool isnt 100% accurate

[seaside1970]

hello guys im new to this. I cant figure where to put the 15 O-rings I got with my valve gasket I see some on the top of the valve cover there white and the the blolts go thought it . is that where I put the O-rings or do I put them on the other end of the shaft ( in sid of the cover, so as im stating ( do they go on the top of the cover where the bolts drop throught the shaft, or on the other end of the shaft. please help, 3 days googling this stuff. by the was im glas im a member as od today thanks guys

[seaside1970]

sorry for the bad spelling. I'm half a sleep

[Rotareneg]

On my 2007 Aveo, those little o-rings install like washers under the bolt heads. Be sure to pick the old ones out first of course.