Vacuum leak

2014 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
100,000 MILES • 1.8L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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PAUL SHARPE
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  • 1 POST
intake air system leak. Dealer spent an entire day looking for the leak. Now is telling me I need to replace the electrical harness to fix the problem. makes no sense to me!
Dec 18, 2019 at 12:44 PM
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SCGRANTURISMO
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 4,897 POSTS
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Hello,

A simple way to check for an intake/vacuum leak is to get a propane torch and barely crack it open so that a small amount of propane is leaking out of it. Do not light it. Start your vehicle and run the torch over the air intake tract, throttle body, intake manifold, all vacuum and EVAP lines. If there is a leak the propane will get sucked into the system where the leak is and the engine will rev up as the propane is burnt in the engine's combustion chambers. I hope that this helps.

Thanks,
ALex
2CarPros
Dec 18, 2019 at 4:09 PM
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STRAILER
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 54,835 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
Here is a guide to help us also. Can you please shoot a quick video with your phone so we can see what's going on? that would be great. You can upload it here with your response.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-an-engine-vacuum-gauge

Please run down this guide and report back.
Dec 18, 2019 at 5:30 PM
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