I've been installing my OVC wires(due to a burnt wire) and found a few problems with vacuum lines...

I had a hose touch the header and melt completely and I have no idea what it is. It's attached to some sort of solenoid that has a wire and two vacuum hoses attached(one is the burnt one and the other runs along the drivers side valve cover and into the intake manifold). Whatever was on the end of this hose is totally burnt- anyone have any idea what this is and what I need to fix it?

Also there are two vacuum hoses that run out of the optispark(or near it anyway)- both of these dead end for me right now. I had the AIR recall done and ever since then I have had lots of dead end hoses- but should these be plugged, open, or should they be connected to something?

This is really frustrating, thanks for your help. Oh and to top it off, I just realised I have developed the famous manifold oil leak AGAIN!

 

Sounds like you burnt the EGR vacuum line from the intake manifold to the solenoid itself?

Just getting it straight, it comes out of the driver side, around where the PVC and brake booster lines are, goes toward the back of the manifold to a big black disk looking thing, then its got two more lines leading around it with a wiring harness?

http://shbox.com/1/intake_rear.jpg

See where it says "EGR Solenoid" at the top and the arrow? The vaccum line that the arrow passes through, is that the one? Or are they around that wiring harness with the bluish end?

Either way, you can go to Autozone and get some new vaccum line or connectors, they're real cheap. You've got Hooker LT's? If you got rid of your EGR tube from the back of the intake manifold to the passenger side exhaust manifold, you can get rid of all those lines connected to the EGR solenoid and put vacuum caps on all the leads that involve the EGR system.

Here's an exploded view of the EGR system to see what lines you need to cap.

http://shbox.com/1/egr.jpg

Good thing my experiences with vacuum leaks is paying off.

 

Thanks for the reply but I don't think that's the one- this one actually goes towards the front of the car- but does come out right next to the EGR hose on the manifold(if you look from the driver's side you see the brake booster hose, and to its left is the EGR hose and the same distance to the right is the hose I am talking about. This solenoid is in the front of the car near the ABS mess(where all the metal lines come out)-

Thanks again though- any clue on the lines coming out of the opti?

 

Look for Shoebox's website. He has hundreds of pictures of the engine compartment that are labeled as to what each thing is. It was a lifesaver for me when I put together a motor that I didn't take apart. I had a huge mess on my hands and his site helped a ton.

 

There's two more vacuum lines that come over from there. There's the air hose that goes from the opti to the intake manifold, it looks like this:

http://shbox.com/1/opti_vacuum_hose.jpg

That sucks air and moisture out of the optispark.

Another one is the PVC valve, it'd run close to it.

http://shbox.com/1/pcv.jpg

In that picture you can see the opti vacuum hose, and the vacuum line that runs to the EGR.

The only other vacuum line that I know of comes off the plastic fuel lines, crosses over under the throttle body to the passenger side of the intake manifold and does something with the EVAP BS.

Here's Shoebox's web page, look through it and see if you see what you're looking for if I didn't point it out already.

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html

 

One of the hoses should go to the drivers side of the intake....the other plugs into the top of the intake elbow.

 

You may have a vacuum hose that goes to a solenoid placed when they did the AIR recall. The solenoid is by the coil at the front of the driver's side head. I don't have any pictures of it, because I never did get the recall done.

The feed for it is on the driver's side of the intake manifold where the opti gets it's vacuum.

Something like this.

 

Thanks a lot for the help guys, hopefully I'll figure this mess out- you are right about the hose coming from the manifold, that's related to the AIR pump and solenoid. Anyway I can just disconnect the AIR system? The solenoid is ugly(no mounting they just zip-tied it) and I'd rather just do away with those vacuum lines.

I dont know how long that opti has been disconnected, when they did the AIR recall they put a screw in the intake elbow and I always wondered where that line had gone- guess the bastards just left it hanging...

 

Okay the elbow to opti piece is now reconnected- but where on the manifold does the other opti line go? I'm guessing it should go to where the AIR soleniod now goes... Or does it connect to the other(burnt/unidentified) line of the AIR solenoid?

 

This or similar. Your extra hose for the AIR solenoid would be going somewhere in there, too.

 

Yeah that is the hose that now runs directly to the AIR solenoid- should I assume the exit hose from the solenoid now runs to the opti? And I'm guessing the piece that melted was one of those blue and white valves, think that sounds right? Thanks everyone for all the help.

 

you have 2 coming out EGR one short other down intake into solenoid one out down to front of cover plugs in below coil if it’s the one above your opti by PCV it’s the EGR

 

Hopefully he figured it out 19 years ago. Doesn’t really matter, because he hasn’t signed into this site since 2011.

 

You crack me up, Fred! LOL