Hey everybody, this is my first post here..

Here's my van

It's a 1991 Dodge Ram B350 with the 5.9 liter engine.

My dad scored this from the bartender in Priest River for $200
I traded him straight across for an old truck that I paid $300 for.. which he sold for 2 sets of tires he sold for $150 per-set and a rider lawn mower lol..

Anyways, I was changing the valve cover gaskets because they were leaking quite a bit of oil. On the passenger side valve cover there was this set of vacuum lines and what look like some type of sensors, I can't say for sure because I'm definitely not a mechanic. Before I took off the valve cover, I removed this whole little assembly and in doing so, I broke about 6 little vacuum lines. They were very brittle and broke all at once.

I was searching google and searching these forums for any info I could use but I couldn't find much.

So now I'm posting here..

What are these vacuum lines for? How difficult are they to replace? Are there any diagrams I can take a look at to get a better understanding of these lines?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin Hyatt

 

Those are not sensors, but computer controlled solenoids which divert vacuum to three different items.
One is for the EGR valve.
One is for the Air pump Diverter valve.
One is for the the Charcoal cannister purge

The hose routing is pretty convoluted. You will need a diagram, or another year van of the same vintage to compare and follow.

Mine is an '89 so my Factory service manual is likely similar, but different enough to not make it worth comparing.

That looks like a Sweet Van. Get yourself a Factory service manual specific to your year Van. Much, much, much more info inside haynes or chilton manuals.

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_...manual&_sacat=

 

Thanks for the reply

I was just thinking.. would it be possible (and easier) to leave the original lines as they are, and simply divert the vacuum pressure through a new line?.. Basically just install a new line parallel to the old one and call it good?

One other question; Are these lines vital to running the engine? Can I run and drive my van short distances before replacing the lines?

I noticed there was another line, about 1/4 inch that somebody had modified(?) the line was basically cut and a screw in both cut ends to plug the airflow.

I love my van and I want it to be running at 100% performance, efficiency and reliability. So I'll definitely see if I can get my hands on one of those manuals.

 

These are all emission related components. If you do not have state inspections/ smog tests just make sure all the ports on the back of the throttle body are blocked off and not sucking air.

There are 2 check valves on the air pump lines. Without the solenoid operating via computer controlled vaccuum, it will just inject air into the Catcon. The other Check valve can fail and a portion of the exhaust might try to exit through the air pump.

If you plan on keeping the Van, the factory service manual will save you money in the long run, possibly the short.

 

Thanks for all the great info Randy

I'm not worried about the smog check because I have Idaho plates. Smog checks are required here in Las Vegas, but I'm just visiting just like anywhere else always just visiting.

I do plan on getting the lines fixed soon, but you say that plugging them will work as a temporary fix. That's just what I'll have to do until I can get the funds and resources to fix them permanently.

How might this effect my fuel efficiency? I imagine it might have a negative impact because from what you're telling me, it sounds like these lines carry exhaust back into the system to be re-burned to reduce emissions. Am I right?

 

I think the charcoal canister needs to be purged, or bypassed. Sometimes when overfilling the gas tank, these can become filled with some fuel instead of just the vapors. Not good for it. Especially with today's gasahol.

I'd get at least the canister purge solenoid working right.

I have blocked off the vacuum line to my operable EGR.

A vacuum leak will negatively effect your MPG much more than than inoperable egr, air pump, or canister purge solenoids.

 

I plugged the lines like you said.. I was driving back from the grocery store when my engine made a very loud "POOF!" and emitted a cloud of vapors. Scared the crap out of me! I pulled over and checked it out, it just blew out the screw I had plugging the line.

I've got some extra money again so I'll hit the auto parts store tomorrow morning.

 

Update:

The assembly that I broke consists of 3 sensors, each sensor has 3 lines. 1 line from each sensor goes into the engine, 1 line from each sensor goes into a cap which has a little foam filter, 1 line goes into a canister about 1ft tall and 5 inches in diameter under the passenger side of the van. Another line goes up towards the top of the engine where it connects to a silver disc-like chamber, the last line goes into an identical chamber which goes into another chamber which is attached to the engine, just left of the top center.

When I broke the lines, I assumed that I would have to replace the whole assembly, but today I realized that the lines were not directly attached, they were attached to 3 rubber boots that were attached to the assembly. I removed the boots, and found 9 male-ends I can probably use to attach new lines. I'm pretty sure that the other ends of the lines have similar male-ends, so replacing the lines should be no problem.

Since I replaced the valve cover gaskets, there's no more oil leaking from the valve covers. I would say that replacing the gaskets was a bad idea, unnecessary because the van was running before. But I feel much better driving this thing now that I know more about it's inner workings and the fact that I'm not leaking as much oil now. Plus, I doubt the lines were brittle when this thing came out of the factory and they were going to fall apart sooner or later. It's better to have these troubles now than have them pop up in the middle of a 1,000 mile drive.