can a plenum leak cause a decent amount of power loss?

while changing the cap and rotor today i cleaned the throttle body and found some oil down in the intake. wondering if this is my cause of no power.

p.s. what a stupid spot for distributor cap.... broke wifes mirror in the process!!

 

bottom end power

 

Yes, it can cause a low end power loss, as well as a decrease in your gas mileage.

Am I the only one here so far who hasn't had his plenum break? Just thought I'd ask...

 

i think so jason.ive never meet anyone who hasnt had to fix that problem.

 

Still have original plenum gasket. No leaks as of yet...

 

My dads first 98 lasted 150,000 on the orignal plenum gasket (until it burned to the ground, RIP.) His current 98 has 170,000 and never had a plenum leak. Both were on original trannys too, except his current 98 just had a rebuild as it was leaking fluid out of the front main, still shifted fine though. My uncle's 96 is also fine with 130,000 one it.

 

thanks guys. my truck just turned 100K but now i think the plenum has been leaking since i got it at 78K. any way gonna set up to do this fix soon. maybe this weekend coming up

 

causes two problems: (1) adds air and screws up your A/F ratio, going lean, and poor combustion, and (2) loss of vacuum so your computer never knows the exact amount of power it needs.

It should be a "noticeable" loss in power... just plain poor performance. Something you would notice if you remember how the truck was performing before the problem. A big enough vacuum leak should eventually show on the CEL.

 

campin i believe it had the leak when i bought it so maybe it will be a good power gain for me.

felpro is the gasket of choice around here right?
where do you get new intake bolts from?

 

I havent. I changed mine at 170 though.